Schäuble

I have to admit that I have not been the greatest follower of Wolfgang Schäuble. Especially when his ideas of more austerity, harsh measures and reforms are still echoing in my ears. But I have to admit that ever since he, Angela Merkel and the majority of European leaders have changed their attitude towards Greece and the austerity measures undertaken there, I have grown fonder of them. (Up to a point that is!) Nevertheless, one has to recognize that the man has some guts. In a recent trip to Singapore discussion, he has stated the following: 

"If we are not fast enough for markets, sorry, but markets have to wait"

Well, he is right on this one. As it is known, markets are handled by people who are more than eager to see action, rapid movements and fast decisions. Unfortunately, in the real world, fast decisions seldom make good decisions. This is a fact that markets have to live with. I would be much happier if it took 2 months to make a decision which would restore prosperity in the region than if a decision was agreed upon in 2 weeks and its results were mediocre. 

Wolfgang Schäuble, winner of the 2012 Charlemagne Prize. Source: Wikimedia Commons

In another interview, Schäuble has commented that "I think there will be no government bankruptcy in Greece.". I think German and (most) European politicians have come to understand that you can gain much more by supporting someone than by constantly criticizing and degrading. His recent trip to Singapore was primarily focused on convincing investors in the booming Southeast little giant to invest in European bonds. Truth be told, it will be an extremely difficult task. Investors will be hard to agree in investing at a region where fiscal stability is far from achieved. Nevertheless, if things work out in the end, returns of Greek, Spanish, Italian and Cypriot bonds will be much higher than those in most nations in the world.