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German Housewife Hailed as Euro Solution

In the parks of Stuttgart, the regional capital of Swabia, there are few signs of a crisis, and the economy is growing.

In a speech, at the start of the global financial crisis, German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel praised the qualities of the ‘Swabian housewife’ - famed in Germany for thriftiness² and the ability to run a household.

Claudia Bauder and Gaby Weber have plenty of advice on that. They are members of the German - American Women’s Club in Stuttgart. “There is a deeply ingrained honesty in Swabians and Germans that would not take advantage too much of other people and the state itself," Weber said.

Polls show a majority of German taxpayers³ back Chancellor Merkel’s pro-austerity stance, forcing troubled economies to slash⁴ spending in return for bailouts. Bauder and Weber say it is basic household economics.

This week, the German finance minister said money should not be thrown ‘into a bottomless pit’ to save the euro, a view echoed by Bauder and Weber.

“You do want to help of course, but you also say, 'What is their plan to improve their situation?' I think it is justifiable⁵ to say, ‘How do you plan to fix it?’” Bauder pondered.

If Germany pays the bills, it must have a say in how the European Union ‘household’ is run, says analyst⁶ Ferdinand Fichtner of the German Institute for Economic Research.

“We have institutions in the monetary⁷ union like the ECB [European Central Bank], but also like the bailout funds, that can actually stop the euro from falling apart by investing a huge amount of money. I do not think that this is necessarily a good thing," Fichtner stated. "I think we have to discuss about whether countries should leave the monetary union, I think this is actually healing.”

Germany says it does not want the euro to break up and European leaders have failed to come up with a solution. But Chancellor Merkel believes the simple household economics of prosperous Swabia could hold valuable lessons for the whole of Europe.