An Alternative for Germany
Bernd Lucke, the co-founder and leader of the new political party
There is a dire financial crisis in Europe that has been brought on by high spending economies that rely on large growth and a good global economy. In 2008, the United States went into a recession which slowed fiscal growth in economies all over the world. Some of the European countries could not afford their high-spending ways, so they took out loans from the European Central Bank rather than cut spending because they wanted to please voters and they believed that the economy would get better soon. In short, it did not. These countries could no longer spend and borrow as they had in the past. They went into severe debt, needing hundreds of billions of euros in bailout funds to get out of debt. However, the only way to get the money that they needed was to ask the richer European countries, mainly Germany, to bail them out. Germany does not necessarily have that much money to give away, and even if they did, why should they? They did none of this excessive spending on social programs such as lengthy unemployment benefits or large retirement funds. Germany is willing to give some money for the good of the currency, but they demand heavy budget cuts. For the indebted countries, the cuts would be in one of the most politically challenging areas. Social programs are hard to cut because voters that use the social programs enjoy them. Voters would be more likely to vote for the candidate that promises to keep social programs, and the leaders of the countries do not want to lose power. The government would have to make cuts through gradualism to keep voters content. However, spending needs to come down as quickly as possible because the spending is just too high for a gradual budget decrease. There is no easy way to make these cuts, which is why Alternative for Germany (AfD) suggests that Germany leave the euro before their economy crashes as well.
Bernd Lucke, is the co-founder of Germany's anti-euro party, Alternative for Germany, and most likely will be the parties first national leader. He is a renowned economist and has been able to draw national and international attention for his party and its ideas. He describes the paty as conservative and euro-skeptical. He believes he can solve the Euro Crisis by having the weaker Southern European countries leave the monetary union. His plan is for the countries to bring back their national curriencies but tie them to the euro at fixed rates. Of course there is great opposition to the party and its ideology, but the party is gaining momentum. Lucke is confident that Alternative for Germany will capture enough votes to enter the Bundestag during the elections this fall. Pollsters are skeptical, however, that they will be able to garner the necessary five percent. Time will tell.
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