Ninety-five years old in December, former chancellor Helmut Schmidt is still so lucid and caustic that he can easily discuss foreign policy and economic policy both from the pages of newspapers and at public events. In the interview published by the business newspaper Handelsblatt last Monday, the Social Democratic politician who led Germany between 1974 and 1982 spared no criticism of the chancellor and her protégé, Peer Steinbrück, formerly Angela Merkel's finance minister and now her opponent in the September elections.
It is not the first time that Schmidt has expressed himself with extreme clarity on the management of the euro crisis and, more generally, on the situation of German politics. This time, however, the comment appears particularly severe. “When it comes to finance, Angela Merkel doesn't really know what she's talking about,” Schmidt sarcastically argues in contradicting the chancellor's analysis of the genesis and solution to the current crisis. For Schmidt, the problem is not so much the competitiveness of the southern states, or rather, the low competitiveness of some countries is only the reflection of serious trade imbalances existing within the Eurozone, to cure which Germany too should do its part, i.e. to correct its chronic surplus. In particular, suggests Schmidt, wages and salaries should increase at a higher rate than inflation, given the excessive moderation of the past years.
At the same time, however, Schmidt denies that Germany can really play a leading role for the rest of Europe. The problem would be the collective guilt that still weighs on the Germans because of their National Socialist past. The former chancellor proposes a way out that is very reminiscent of the much-cited Europe of two speeds, not least also by Mrs Merkel in one of her last summer interviews given to German television ARD. "The ideal would be for a strong core of the European Union to make use of the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty which allow for enhanced cooperation between certain member states," said Schmidt.
The comment on the Constitutional Tribunal of Karlsruhe is also harsh, on the independence of whose judges, called to judge on the OMT program of the ECB, one certainly could not put his hand in the fire. Finally, Schmidt also appeared unconvinced of the qualities of Mrs. Merkel's contender. Although he praised her some time ago, Schmidt now seemed more skeptical of her talents. When asked by the director of the Handelsblatt, according to which Steinbrueck could also be a good chancellor, but for now he would only have shown that he can only run a bad electoral campaign, Schimidt replied laconically: "Yes, it could be".
