Financial Times Deutschland
There was once a German goalkeeper, who agitated his own defenders until they became dizzy and raged through the penalty area if someone provoked him, sometimes gnawing the neck of an opposing striker.
Peer Steinbrück, who as finance minister is the goalkeeper of the German government, behaves in a similar way. Whoever talks to the SPD man about economic policy must count on a harsh reprimand. His attack on the fiscal policy of Gordon Brown was so rude that even the British – who are actually not squeamish – winced.
If the goal of this step was to score with the German public, then the minister could achieve the effect more cheaply – in the Anglo-Saxon world he has achieved the maximum negative effect. This might work in sport. But not in politics.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Before difficult negotiations, all psychological registers are hit, up to and including defamation. But damage develops in this way that will be difficult to repair.
Die Tageszeitung
Steinbrück is more than an incident in the SPD's election campaign, the criticisms of Brown more than a question of style. Merkel and Steinbrück are about to isolate Germany internationally. They talk about the situation beautifully, so as not to risk doing anything wrong. But Steinbrück's threatening self-assurance does not make him seem confident. This is not the way someone who wants to convince their allies speaks. This is the way someone who must stifle growing panic speaks.
