In an interview with EURACTIV, Jim Snabe, the chairman of German industry giant Siemens, argued that the current societal challenges required a more active state involvement and worried about the deterioration of relations with China.
Weakened and highly defensive trade unions on the one side and a recourse to cheap technocratic arguments by centrist and centre-right governments on the other side make for a bad political cocktail, leading to bad policies.
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While the recent failures of banks in the US and in Switzerland might give a new impetus towards a reform of the European bank crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) rules, opposition is likely to be strong, especially from Germany.