Oh yeah. I had essentially assumed he was looking to make political capital. I’ve forgotten whether the original remarks were prepared or off-the-cuff, but I always read them in the context of the NRW election. (Just like I see the whole ‘visa-affair’ as an attempt to dent Fischer’s personal popularity in the long run-up to the 2006 national elections.)

Further these are *not* core issues in terms of the painful reform process that Germany is going through. Getting these regulations right won’t resolve the longstanding economic problems.

Also true. Could this, though, be the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down? (Even if it’s not the most delightful way…)

So those of us who have ‘wicked’ imaginations could think that this is being raised in the way it is as a ’smokescreen’ to get away from the real issues.

What do you think this is, one of the later Kohl governments?

I don’t imagine anyone is arguing that there aren’t problems to address in corporate behaviour: that would be Dumkopf :). As I said somewhere else ‘deregulation doesn’t mean no regulation’ and following Edward Heath there is an ‘unacceptable face of capitalism’. This is why we need laws, this is why we need regulators, and this is why, contra Grass’s worst fear we need Parliaments to do the controling.

Hans Eichel has just said that the activities of hedge funds should be investigated. This seems sensible to me. They are a relatively new phenomenon in Germany and there may well be ways in which the legal situation can be tightened up: eg TCI seems to be registered in the Cayman Islands. You could look at the question of the so called ‘fiscal paradises’.

You could also look into the activities of people like Seifert and Breuer - especially Breuer’s activities at both Deutsch B?rse and Deutsch Bank - to see if there are lessons to be learned.

Also the growing disparities in earnings between workers and directors, or the rapid rise in corporate profitability, seem to be causing concern. Again there are traditional and effective methods available: parliamentary committees, commissions of enquiry, legislation, tax instruments etc.

All of these constitute part of the quiet, daily activity of managing a complex society: few headlines here.

What has preoccupied so many about M?nterfering is that he has approached these issues in highly emotive terms, in a way which suggests he is looking to make political capital.

Further these are *not* core issues in terms of the painful reform process that Germany is going through. Getting these regulations right won’t resolve the longstanding economic problems.

So those of us who have ‘wicked’ imaginations could think that this is being raised in the way it is as a ’smokescreen’ to get away from the real issues.