Recent comments by Tobias Engelmeier

• Why Germany Should Lead or Leave

  Thomas Meyer, this is utter nonsense. As a German, I find it embarrassing.

• Why Germany Should Lead or Leave

  This article is very interesting. It brings together an economic and a political perspective. Soros thinks out of the box, based on an empathy with the European Union project as well as of all Europeans. Reading through it, a number of things come to mind.
  
  1. How can we avoid a purely technocratic solution in which European citizens don't feel left out? The biggest challenge to me seems to be finding a democratic or at least democratically sanctioned process. I understand that it may be advantageous at first glance to delegate complex decisions to technocrats in times of crisis (like the Roman's did with their dictators). But we might in the process be giving up the most important political good - our democracy. (And you know what happened in Rome.)
  
  
  2. I agree with Soros on his assessment of the German management of the crisis. There is no attempt to lead and there is little European spirit left. This is a shame. Perhaps this is a generational/demographic problem: the older generation, which has profited from past peace and prosperity has little incentive to take risks for the future. Changing, improving, and taking risks is, however, essential for the younger generations. Europe is a long-term project for our children. In Germany some weaker states have profited from the support of stronger states in the past and are now ready to themselves support others. Bavaria is an example. Saxony may soon be another.
  
  Europe should be a globally competitive, internally cooperative and democratically governed entity. I still believe this is possible. But I feel that the voices of pessimism and provincialism are currently very strong.
  
  

• India’s Frugal Dynamism

  While the ability to invent for survival and the entrepreneurial spirit in India is certainly impressive, I am skeptical about making "Jugaad" a way of life. It often papers over issues that can and should be addressed more systematically. Living in Delhi, I often had this discussion about traffic: is this elegant swarm intelligence or just pure, highly inefficient chaos? I feel, it is the latter. Also, the Nano and the Aakash, while bold propositions, have so far (unfortunately) not been commercially successful. Otherwise, I agree with Shashi Tharoor: frugal innovations (rather than Jugaad) are a great opportunity in India. Whether it is enough to deflect the macro picture and lead to real income growth amongst the poor, I don't know.