Germany, the Crisis and the G-8

New York Times
Editorial
May 17, 2012

When the leaders of the Group of 8 gather at Camp David on Friday, President Obama and the others must press Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to commit to a euro-zone growth package. This is no time to mince words: Her one-size-fits-all austerity program has been a failure, pushing heavily indebted countries deeper into recession, making it even harder for them to pay off their debts. It is putting the already-weak recovery in the United States at risk and is fueling instability and extremism in Europe.

After months of obstinance, Ms. Merkel has softened her stance — saying that Germany is open to stimulus to spur growth, employment and development in Greece and pledging to work with the new French president, François Hollande, on a program to promote growth across recession-racked Europe. It is unclear, however, whether her comments reflect a true and lasting change of heart.

Ms. Merkel’s new talking points appear to be driven mainly by the defeat in France of Nicolas Sarkozy, her longtime partner-in-austerity, and the spreading chaos in Greece, where anti-austerity voters brought down the government this month and fears that the country could soon exit the euro have provoked a run on the banks and capital flight.

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