German Pride Shifts to Angst in Role as Europe’s Reflator
- Inflation surge triggering pushback against ECB policies
- Monday data show Saxony, Hesse, NRW with price growth above 2%
The German national flag flies beside a European Union (EU) flag as a flock of birds take flight over the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 18, 2016.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Germany is feeling cursed by its own economic strength.
For eight years, the nation of 83 million people has been the euro area’s growth driver. Now it’s at the forefront of the currency bloc’s reflation -- early data on Monday showed annual price increases exceeding 2 percent in some states -- and dissatisfaction with the European Central Bank has morphed into frustration.