Hans Tietmeyer: the face of the hard Mark – TIME ONLINE

Ponderous, resistant to change, rule-obsessed: In Germany, civil servants are often in this reputation. It can’t be so bad, show success stories, such as the former German Federal President Horst Köhler. And also the career of his predecessor as Secretary of state in the Ministry of Finance, Hans Tietmeyer, who died on Tuesday at the age of 85 years.

Of Westphalia, which was formed after the beginnings of the theology of the ordoliberal Economists, had worked in the Ministry of economic Affairs, before he became, in 1982, to the Secretary of state for Finance and the major Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Without Tietmeyer cabbage should have been on the chancellorship probably wait longer, eventually the market a devout Catholic, is considered the man behind the so-called Lambsdorff paper that initiated the break-up of the social-liberal coalition and paving the way for sprouts only. Later Tietmeyer, an Exponent of the conservative-liberal Power in Germany, a terrorist attack only by luck escaped.

Shortly after the German reunification, he received his most important Post: Tietmeyer was the last President of a sovereign Bundesbank before the Euro came. He fought for tough stability rules in the common currency, and was otherwise a Tradition of the Bundesbank. As the German economy after the reunification of hot, he responded with rapid increases in interest rates, which could not even like a Familiar, such as Helmut Kohl. He wanted to set a sign against the coming of the Euro, or at least a Easy-go-lucky-the Euro? Some accused him of the.

Tietmeyer is one of the great exponents of the German Ordoliberalism, the hits abroad today, with a lot of misunderstanding. With his thoughts on Reform in Tietmeyer Gerhard schröder’s Agenda began in 2010, anticipated, and the same two decades. Helmut Kohl, however, with tough economic reforms in the end. He settled on the common currency, which should include the new, larger made Germany stronger in Europe.

Tietmeyer, the face was the hard Mark, and the idea of a Central Bank that guarantees regardless of policy, the stability of the currency. In 2008, he said the common European currency is successful, however, because the Euro had the hardness test. Today, the States help each other over the Euro crisis and the European Central Bank is buying up huge tranches of government bonds of the member countries. All wanted to know, the Bundesbank, and its top boss always prevented.

Nevertheless, Tietmeyers heir to. The Hartz reforms have shown that a flexible labour market, new Jobs and new growth can occur. And still today, the German Finance Minister, wacker is trying to prevent the worst “sins” in the Euro policy, and at the same time, the suffering member countries in their own reform obligations.

Tietmeyer knew: Popular not to do so. But in the long run, with that ordoliberal attitude, after all, the Basis of the German re-ascent after the war, often correctly.