Germany: lucky bastards

Lucky Germany. After their elections Angela Merkel's party has a 34% majority and can dump the socialists and form a coalition with a pro business party.

Mrs Merkel's CDU and its Bavaria-only sister, the Christian Social Union, won 33.8 per cent of the vote and the Social Democrats took 23 percent...Mr Pofalla said his party was sticking to its election promise of tax cuts.

"We want tax cuts in two steps in the next legislative period which will result in relief of 15 billion euros ($22.03 billion)," he said.

However, the FDP will push for a more ambitious programme. While Mrs Merkel has steadfastly refused to put a time frame on her party's plans, given the dire state of public finances, the FDP campaigned for quick cuts worth 35 billion euros.

And what do we have over here? Apart from the knowledge that 11% of the population are mental?

BELEAGUERED Gordon Brown today pledges to cut broke Britain's debt in half by 2013.

Writing in the News of the World on the eve of the Labour Party conference, the PM promises to get the economy under control WITHOUT massive cuts.

So all roads appear to point to tax rises, chaps.

I heard the other day on Radio 4 a debate about whether this recession had proved that Keynesianism was right. Bit early for that, isn't it? Huge amounts of money were thrown at mainly inefficient public services whilst many businesses closed down and now we're in a big wallowy pit of debt.

Our problems as a nation are nowhere near over because things are only taking a very slight turn upwards and contractionary fiscal policy can change that in a matter of months.

We need the tax cuts that the Germans are going to do and bugger all the moaning about cuts. The recession brought good news for many of us, reading that Peter Mandelson had decided to delay bringing on bits of damaging business regulation (save damaging businesses for when they're doing a bit better eh, Peter?) and the bloated, blancmange like public sector was going to get a slicing.

Hurrah for slashing budgets of government departments! This government has overseen an entire change in mindset towards controlling everything the individual does and it's been supported in doing that with our own money. If there's one thing the recession could do which is useful it's hack away at the deadwood in Whitehall and town halls. Sack the Quangocrats and let them forage for food in the real world. Have some responsibility and accountability for public funded projects like the NHS computer system.

Yes, Germany is very lucky not to be burdened with an economically illiterate government. Okay, it likes the EU and seems to be in favour of the Consolidated Corporate Tax Base in the Lisbon Treaty but it's better than what we've been lumbered with.

And 2010 will bring a General Election with the chance of voting Brown and his cronies out of power.

But with David Cameron saying that the Lib Dems and the Tories are identical in many ways and David Miliband saying that areas of Tory and Labour policy are identical then what Nigel Farage has been saying for about three years: that you can't get a cigarette paper between them and you're just voting for a change of management is sadly true.

Cuts, dear chaps. Let people spend their own money, let them start up their own businesses and you'll have a leaner, stronger economy than anything a socialist could bring about.