Posts
Previously posted on my Facebook page.
NEWS. “Germany Posts First Monthly Trade Deficit in 30 Years.” / “Germany’s Biggest Importer of Russian Gas Runs Through Its Credit Line.” And adds: “High energy prices and disrupted supply chains dent the image of `Made in Germany,’ as May imports exceeded exports for the first time in decades.” Obviously, Olaf Scholz is no Angela Merkel. No need to line up Ms Merkel’s 16-year accomplishments as Chancellor. Or how she led the catch-all Christian Democratic Union to sustain Germany’s stature as top E.U. stalwart and global power.
Although Merkel’s 16-year reign, third longest in Germany’s history, is also marred with a few mishaps and miscalculations, she was stern and decisive especially in confronting the 2008 financial crash and the subsequent euro crisis when the bloc’s currency was under severe threat. I will discuss more Angela in a bit.
Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz?
Herr Olaf is Germany’s Chancellor since December last year. His Social Democratic Party now rules Berlin’s political rostrum, from Angela Merkel’s CDU. Let me cite just three of Scholz’s significant management flaws, in so short a time: A doubled Defense budget, from average of $53 million in Merkel’s time to over $100 billion this year; huge-ass shipment of weapons to Ukraine while still buying Russian oil/gas; and the suspension of the approval of Nord Stream 2, which would have ensured Germany’s supply of less expensive gas. 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
I WOULD insist my straight to the eye honesty here: I don’t see anything wrong with purchase of Russian oil. If it is wrong, then what makes OPEC oil or U.S. oil or Canadian oil etc etcetera different? Fact: In 2020, Russia would supply more than half of Germany’s natural gas and about a third of all the oil that Germans burned heat homes, power factories and fuel vehicles.
So in saying that, Olaf Scholz’s quick shipment of weapons to Ukraine as the war ensued alongside suspension of the Moscow/Berlin Nord Stream 2 partnership, without exerting more patience in exploring diplomatic channels, was a leadership blunder. Now Berlin is back to buying Russian oil/gas? Which, of course, heightened Vladimir Putin’s leverage on the trade table.
I mean, who cares about politics? This is economic, right? And I believe that’s how Angela Merkel essentially operated. Her stewardship hugely aided in steering E.U. out of the 2008 financial crash and the subsequent euro crisis when the bloc’s currency was severely threatened. She took the lead in foisting tough austerity measures on the indebted countries of southern Europe, while at the same time backing aid and loans for struggling EU member states.
However, as I said, Merkel’s 16-years didn’t pass without stain but Germans, at this juncture, face a present crisis. The limited supply of gas from Russia, as Putin issues a counter on Scholz, means high prices skyrocketing.
Not good at all. 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
