German Referendum Needed to Fix Euro, Bofinger Tell Standard

Peter Bofinger, an economic adviser to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Germany will probably need a referendum before politicians fix the structural defects of Europe’s currency, Vienna’s Der Standard newspaper reported, citing an interview.

While the German judicial system weighs the legality of the European Stability Mechanism “the best way in Germany would be to hold a referendum,” he told the newspaper.

“The problem we have now is not a problem of constitutional politics but that, for two years now, small-scale solutions have been tried to solve a systemic crisis,” Bofinger said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net