Quite remarkably, Germany is one of the few countries that succeeded to contain all three problems effectively. Of course even Germany had difficulties at times, for instance after the reunification, when it was even called “the sick man of Europe”. But the patient recovered after following a tough prescription of wage moderation, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms.
Ants and grasshoppers The historian Harold James shows that Germany’s stability has led to economic tensions within Europe for several times in the past few decades. Germany often developed current account surpluses vis-à-vis other European countries, that led to discussions about the burden of adjustment.