Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, seen on May 12, 2015 in Washington, DC, accused Germany of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of Europe. (AFP/file)
Prominent economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz accused Germany on Sunday of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of Europe.
“What has been demonstrated is a lack of solidarity by Germany. You cannot run a eurozone without a basic modicum of solidarity. It is really undermining the common sense of vision, the sense of common solidarity in Europe,” the Columbia University professor and former World Bank chief economist told Agence France Presse.
“I think it’s been a disaster. Clearly Germany has done a serious blow, undermining Europe,” he said. “Asking even more from Greece would be unconscionable. If the ECB allows Greek banks to open up and they renegotiate whatever agreement, then wounds can heal. But if they succeed in using this as a trick to get Greece out, I think the damage is going to be very very deep.”
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Paul Krugman wrote Sunday in the New York Times:
Substantive surrender isn’t enough for Germany, which wants regime change and total humiliation — and there’s a substantial faction that just wants to push Greece out, and would more or less welcome a failed state as a caution for the rest…There are only terrible alternatives at this point, thanks to the fecklessness of the Greek government and, far more important, the utterly irresponsible campaign of financial intimidation waged by Germany and its allies.
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Stiglitz wrote on July 8th: