Jochen Bittner and Jörg Lau question German economic nationalism

During the euro crisis France and the US were among the countries that accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of favouring German interests. Jochen Bittner and Jörg Lau write in the liberal weekly Die Zeit that there is nothing new in this attitude on Germany's part: "Would Helmut Kohl really have acted any differently today than Angela Merkel? Would he too not have demanded that the Eurozone be bolstered through regulation? ... Gerhard Schröder was particularly prone to digging in his heels when push came to shove with Europe. In 1999 he put a damper on Brussels' attempt to issue a guideline obliging car manufacturers to take back old cars, for this would have cost VW & co. billions. And fearing that Polish plumbers and Bulgarian nurses would immigrate en masse to the German welfare state, Schröder insisted on delaying the freedom of movement for Europe's new populations after the EU eastward expansions of 2004 and 2007. So let's not say putting German interests first started with Merkel. On the contrary, after Schröder's machismo the chancellor was at first considered someone who would once more show respect even to smaller neighbouring states. ... Now her image has changed."

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