Paul Krugman in Wednesday’s Herald Tribune:

“But without trying to defend the politics of bunga bunga, let me ask the obvious question: What good, exactly, has what currently passes for mature realism done in Italy or for that matter Europe as a whole? For Mr. Monti was, in effect, the proconsul installed by Germany to enforce fiscal austerity on an already ailing economy; willingness to pursue austerity without limit is what defines respectability in European policy circles. This would be fine if austerity policies actually worked — but they don’t. And far from seeming either mature or realistic, the advocates of austerity are sounding increasingly petulant and delusional.”

(Read the complete article here.)

Fair enough, but isn’t Ms. Merkel Obama’s proconsul?

And isn’t Obama also somebody’s proconsul?