Their unemployment and budgetary/fiscal problems notwithstanding, what I see here is a resurgence of the old dislike between France and Germany breathing new life. Yes, it is true that the austerity measures currently working their way through the EU are being spearheaded by Germany but the feelings being expressed by Montebourg aren't really economically-based as much as they are politically and nationally based.France was thrown into fresh political turmoil Monday after President Francois Hollande dissolved the government amid feuding among cabinet members over the country’s economic austerity measures.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls offered up his Socialist government's resignation after accusing the outspoken economy minister of crossing a line by issuing a blunt criticism of his policies and urging “just and sane” resistance to German-inspired austerity.
Hollande accepted the resignation and ordered Valls to form a new government by Tuesday.
It comes amid growing discontent with the French government’s economic measures.
France has had effectively no economic growth this year, unemployment is hovering around 10 percent, and Hollande's approval ratings are in the teens. The country is under pressure from the European Union to get its finances in order, but Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg has questioned whether the austerity pressed by the EU will kick start French growth.
Hollande's promises to cut taxes and make it easier for businesses to open and operate have stalled, meanwhile, in large part because of the divisions among Socialists.
"A major change in our economy policy" was needed, Montebourg said in comments that come just days after Hollande had expressly said there would be no change in direction.
The minister's comments angered the Socialist leadership, which said Montebourg's job was to support the government, not criticize it from within.
"He's not there to start a debate but to put France back on the path of growth," Carlos Da Silva, the Socialist Party spokesman, told Le Figaro newspaper.
"With half of the presidential mandate already gone, it doesn't bode well for the ability of the president, or whatever government he chooses, to take key decisions," said former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, one of handful of hopefuls for the conservative ticket in the 2017 presidential election.
Montebourg's criticism of austerity — and his pointed remarks about German Chancellor Angela Merkel — have rankled before.
In an interview last week, after Germany's economy also showed signs of stagnation, Montebourg said France's neighbor had been "trapped by the policy of austerity." He went on to say "when I say Germany, I mean the German right-wing that supports Angela Merkel. It's not France's job to align itself to the ideological axioms of Germany's right-wing."
The French Socialist Party isn't going to like my advice much but if they want to improve their economy then they are going to have to consider cutting government spending and cutting corporate tax rates to improve the environment for business, even if the cuts will have a relatively short lifespan (say, 5 years).
Most politicians, though, need to quit thinking that they can fix problem in only 3 to 5 years; most major problems which need to be fixed took longer than that to become major problems so they won't be solved in a shorter time span without causing more problems than the solutions solve.
