The anger within the three parties of the ruling coalition is understandable. These are the parties of the German taxpayer, after all, and ever since the sovereign debt crisis began they have been reciting the mantra that the eurozone is not and will not become a \u201ctransfer union\u201d\u009d; that there will be no mutualisation of debt; that Mediterranean sloth and tax evasion will not be rewarded by payments from hardworking, honest Nordic Germany.<\/p>\n
If this sounds racist, it\u2019s because the debate is tinged on all sides by nationalist stereotypes. The German middle class feels it has been had and the country is digesting Moody\u2019s downgrading of its credit rating. \u201cIs this what we get for saving the Greeks?\u201d\u009d asks the tabloid Bild. Good question….<\/p>\n
It is impossible to explain to a German who has had her retirement age upped to 67, or an unemployed German whose benefits have been cut to balance the budget, why billions of euros should go south to support governments that didn\u2019t have the guts to slash social spending or who let their citizens retire to the beach at 55.<\/p>\n