Next German FinMin may be more conciliatory toward Greece
Olaf Scholz, the mild-mannered, pragmatic mayor of Hamburg, could become Germany’s next finance minister.
If he does, he would step into the giant shoes left by Wolfgang Schaeuble, the fiscally hawkish and larger-than-life veteran of German politics who now presides over the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.
Some conservatives fear Scholz, who recently backed a big increase in the minimum wage, could raise government spending and reverse Schaeuble’s “black zero” policy of not incurring new debt.
Others say that Scholz would be likely to stick to Germany’s fiscal conservatism but could adopt a more conciliatory tone toward poorer eurozone countries such as Greece.
[Reuters]