re: #86 albusteve

they refused to pass a US style stimulus bill

Merkel Makes Like Obama With German Stimulus Excluding Europe

As global consumer demand melts away, slowing production lines across Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is injecting 82 billion euros ($110 billion) into the economy, the biggest stimulus package in Europe. The government has also made 100 billion euros available in credit and loan guarantees to German companies, including 25 billion euros in loans from Frankfurt- based KfW Group, the state-owned development bank. Merkel says the aid is necessary for the world’s No. 1 exporter to survive the economic crisis.