But, First, a Note about Germany
My readers have no doubt noticed that many of our comments about Europe don't seem to apply to Germany. It's certainly true that Germans appear to be harder working, thriftier, and more fiscally disciplined than the rest of Europe. But there are some serious issues here.
The first is simply Germany's history. Try as they might, neither Europe nor the rest of the world is likely to allow the Germans to dominate Europe again. Thus, whatever the merits of the German prescription for the rest of Europe (austerity, fiscal discipline, firm central oversight), it isn't likely to be adopted by countries with long and dreadful memories.
More practically, the German export-led economic model27 is simply not adoptable by Europe, for the simple reason that someone has to buy the exported goods. If, somehow, all the countries of Europe decided to become export-driven economies, they would all collapse at once—including Germany.