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That would be the decision of eight members of the German Constitutional Court, garbed in their distinctive red and white robes, and the judges’ decision regarding Germany’s participation in the new European bailout fund – and its capping of the amount of Germany’s participation.
German citizens are not happy and have been pushing for a referendum on Germany’s participation in the European. The Economist noted: “Those petitioning the court ranged from the political right to the left, and a record 37,000 Germans signed on. This resistance added to a growing perception outside Germany that the country is increasingly reluctant to preserve the euro, and certainly not the leading defender it should be. That view is not entirely wrong—many Germans are against the latest plan by the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy government bonds of crisis countries in tandem with the ESM. But it misses a larger point. Germans see the euro crisis, and the process of European integration, differently from others.”
Post-war Germany’s two strongest commitments have been to democracy and European integration. It was always assumed that these ideals could be pursued in harmony. Of late, however, concern has grown that the euro crisis demands measures that bring democracy and “Europe” into conflict. As Andreas Vosskuhle, the court’s president, read the verdict, Germans hung on his every word precisely because he appeared to be giving guidance not just about the ESM, but about how European integration might proceed more generally without a loss of liberty.
Meanwhile, the president of the European Commission pushed for more political unity, not more national sovereignty. The Financial Times reported: “ European Commission president José Manuel Barroso blames euro crisis on a lack of political cohesion in the bloc and chastises squabbling leaders.” The New York Times reported: “Delivering his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Mr. Barroso outlined a plan for more central banking regulation as a crucial part of the effort to resolve the region’s debt crisis.”
The proposal, which would require the unanimous approval of the European Union’s 27 member nations, would give the European Central Bank the power to withdraw banking licenses, fine noncompliant lenders and require all 6,000 euro zone banks to join the system by Jan. 1, 2014.
The problem is that all the maneuvering by European elites ignores the fact that they are more of the same kind of elite maneuvers that led to the recent crises – which have not solved the problems but merely required more efforts to contain more crises.
Sooner or late, the elites must wake up to the need for a democratic, real money that cannot be manipulated by elites. A gold standard solution to a fiat money problem. Gold – a real red, white and blue solution to the fiat dollar.
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