For 60 years, successive German governments sought a more European Germany; but now, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration wants to reshape Europe's economies in Germany’s image. This would be a disaster: Far from being Europe’s most successful economy – as German officials boast – Germany’s economy is dysfunctional.
The article provides a data-rich analysis of how a banking crisis has morphed into a sovereign debt crisis as the authorities have refused to impose losses on investors in banks in the so-called core Eurozone countries. And as Rosner argues, the current path of denial and delay has increased the eventual costs to Germany and the global economy, with the tab to Germany already €500 billion higher than it would otherwise have been.