Unfair to blame Germans for austerity

Matt Cooper (May 18) joins the chorus blaming the Germans for the fact that other countries in Europe, ourselves included, are in financial difficulty and are suffering from ‘austerity’.

Despite all the confusing verbiage put out by Matt Cooper and his media friends it is right that all of us realise why Germany is doing well and some of the rest of us are bankrupt.

Over the years the Germans embraced austerity and ran their country properly. That included integrating the old German Democratic Republic into its economy.

We should remember that when Germany was wrestling with the problems of austerity and of incorporating East Germany into its economy we had a booming economy.

It should also be remembered that in that period Germany used the same currency as the rest of us and had similar rates of interest. Matt Cooper tries to make the case that that was not fair. How blinkered can you get? While the Germans were running their country successfully the people in charge of our most powerful institutions managed to bankrupt this country.

We can hardly blame the Germans for that.

A. Leavy

1 Shielmartin Drive

Sutton

Dublin