Thus Der Spiegel today. “The debate over Germany’s insistence on euro-zone austerity has flared anew as an ailing France continues to demand economic stimulus,” explains the newspaper. “The European Central Bank may now be siding with Paris, leaving Merkel looking increasingly alone.” François Hollande is not alone in his fight against austerity, it goes without saying. Almost everyone in the Union is on his side. Besides, plenty of experts agree that austerity is the wrong tack against the economic doldrums. During a meeting of Nobel laureates on Lake Constance in August, the economists present unanimously criticized Merkel’s approach, the article points out. This much we have learned from John Maynard Keynes, after all. Stimulus is the only way out of the economic mess. But Angela Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, are not to be budged. They remain convinced in their tack. Interestingly, the article does not address the reasons behind their stubbornness. To begin with, they are convinced that all the troubles experienced across the subcontinent come from profligacy. This applies especially to Southern Europe, but France is not far behind as a culprit. More important, Germany has benefited from austerity. Its own recession was comparatively slight and it now benefits from a relatively cheap euro that helps with its growing exports. The only mystery of austerity in Europe is that nobody has the guts to tell the Germans that they are concerned only with their own economic interests. Ah, where is Keynes when one needs him?