Europe's Fear of Capitalism
Which German politician said the following?
As a citizen, I would not like again to become the object of Anglo-Saxon financial capital. Germany does not protect me from this, but only Germany in Europe does.
Was it:
a. Franz Müntefering, the chair of the Social Democratic party (SPD) who in 2005 famously compared mostly American and British investment firms to “locusts” and who is presently leading the SPD election campaign for the upcoming general elections.
b. Andrea Nahles, the vice-chair of the SPD and leader of its so-called “left” wing.
c. Oskar Lafontaine, scourge of “neo-liberal” economics and co-chair of the further left “Leftist Party” [Die Linke] whose program excoriates “financial market capitalism.”
d. Sahra Wagenknecht, member of the executive committee of the Leftist Party and leader of its unreconstructed, self-styled “Communist” wing.
The answer is… none of the above. In any case, (c) and (d) would not be plausible answers, since they would not be likely to speak so positively of the EU.
The real answer is: Norbert Röttgen, chief parliamentary whip of the supposedly “conservative” Christian Democratic (CDU/CSU) group in the German Bundestag. The CDU is, of course, the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Röttgen made the remark in an interview that was published in the Monday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.