According to the German news site, Der Spiegel, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has warned Obama against protectionism. She says that giving bailout money to the auto industry was not a good idea and that that kind of behavior is not what is needed to solve the financial crisis.
The original article is in German, but I translated the opening paragraph of it for you:
Critical message for President Obama: Chancellor Merkel expressed her distrust of the billion dollar subsidies for the US auto industry at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Protectionism is not the right answer to the financial crisis.
It’s just sad that it has come to the point that Germany or any other European government is warning the President of the United States of America about bailing out industries and government intervention. I say that because the governments in Europe are exceedingly more socialist than our own government and even they aren’t intervening (or should I say interfering) with the free market as much as the American government. On the contrary, they are tell us to back off.
Perhaps Obama will take Chancellor Merkel’s advice, but I highly doubt it. Especially with this $825 billion stimulus plan that Obama has proposed and is trying to push through Congress. By unanimously voting against the bill, the House Republicans have done what is best for the country. But that is an entirely different story.
