Nick Baumann is in Germany and has spent the last week talking with German journalists. Across the political spectrum, he says, they all share a similar view on the euro crisis: rote opposition to both inflation and the idea that German taxpayers might have to pay to cover Spanish or Italian deficits:
Perhaps this isn’t surprising. But what was shocking to me was the total absence of any recognition that there might be an alternate view. When I mentioned the idea that the euro’s problems might not be entirely due to government irresponsibility on the periphery, but rather a balance-of-payments issue (see Matt Yglesias or our own Kevin Drum for more on that idea), people looked at me like I was from space. The fact that German and French banks are holding the bag for Spain and Italy’s debt never came up, and no one seemed to have any doubts that the European Stability Mechanism, the fund the eurozone countries are setting up for emergencies, would be sufficiently large to deal with the situation.
….It’s possible, of course, that my sample of journalists was oddly skewed and that German media are talking about this sort of stuff. But if Germans really are taking the “worry” side of the story seriously, it’s a fringe thing. I spoke to reporters or editors from most of the country’s largest papers and broadcasters, and they all seemed unconcerned. What’s hard to convey remotely is the general mood: a kind of serenity, an almost utter confidence that everything will turn out fine. I hope they’re right. But I’m not so sure.
I’m not so sure either. But if the confidence fairy has any power at all, I guess it’s good to know that the German press has so much confidence that everything’s going to turn out OK.
