Chancellor Angela Merkel championed German export strength as “the right thing” for her country, spurning President Barack Obama’s call to boost private spending as both leaders prepare for Group of 20 talks.Must be nice to be able to reduce the deficit by $12 billion and get credit for it. When Obama tried the same thing earlier this year, he was laughed at by both sides. Things are much more serious now however, as the unemployment rate is still dangerously high and Congress seems to want to do nothing about it.
Merkel, addressing a business audience in Berlin today, said she told Obama in a phone call that cutting government debt is “absolutely important for us,” exposing a second point of contention ahead of the June 26-27 G-20 summit in Canada.
Reducing the budget deficit by 10 billion euros ($12 billion) per year “won’t put a brake on the world’s economic growth,” Merkel said, relating what she told Obama yesterday. Germans are more likely to spend money if they feel the government “is taking precautions” to ensure solid finances, she said.
Four days before world leaders meet in Toronto, Germany is heading for conflict with the rest of the G-20 over tighter financial regulation, a banking levy and U.S. calls to boost growth rather than cut debt.
Considering the Republicans are more than happy for Obama to take the blame, blocking jobs bills seems to be their path to glory in 2010.
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