Economist guru Krugman says Germany failing in financial crisis

In an interview with German magazine Stern on Thursday, Krugman said Germany and Europe were failing to get enough of a grip on the situation.

“Germany has until now just been a giant stumbling block,” he said. He said the, “Tendency to take orthodox positions in questions of economic policy,” was ‘very German’, and even went on to single out Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück for special criticism.

The minister seems to have ‘a real problem’ with a coordinated stimulus programme, Krugman said.

He also focused on Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying that where she was concerned, one could, “not really speak of intellectual flexibility”.

“Sometimes I think Germany has still not yet understood the enormous scale of the crisis,” he said.

The situation in Europe was comparable to that in the US he said, but the Europeans were not yet taking appropriate measures.

“Europe is messing up. I do not see any sign of a coordinated approach, particularly in the finance policies.”

He said this was a ‘great disappointment and a big problem.”