Euopean Voice disserves Steinbruck!

Hello gang. Keep your eyes peeled to see if the European Voice is brave enough to publish the letter to the editor I penned (see below). What a piece of crap writing. (Anne, even if you weren't in our group, I would have sent this letter.) Please remember, I owned and edited a Philadelphia newspaper for six years. We were very careful to try to separate opinion pieces from our journalistic selections. Anyway, what I saw was an article that told about a politican who is doing a great job written in a sarcastic and bitter tone. Here's my response:

Don’t shoot the messenger

Does Eric Culp hold a grudge against Peer Steinbrück? His profile of “the plain speaker” (EV 5-11 October 2006) is antagonistic towards Steinbrück’s authenticity, the very characteristic most Europeans have been clamoring for in their politicians. It’s the negative tone of this piece, given the facts, that is so curious. Culp maligns Steinbrück for calling the kettle black. Germany’s fiscal situation has been gravely underperforming and his job is to remedy that. By calling to raise its below average VAT, Steinbrück selected a natural source of revenue to raise funds. I do not have deeper knowledge regarding what government spending “cuts” could be (or are) also being made, but anyone living in “EuroWorld” knows that Germany took a big financial hit for its east/west reunification. Raising its VAT seems a fair way to spread the “pain”. So, what’s the back-story with this glum profile? Culp’s piece smacks of personal subjectivism masquerading as journalism. What the reader learns between the lines is that Steinbrück has attacked the root of Germany’s fiscal problem with an eye toward resolution, his job. He is berated for telling colleagues not to cheer too much or too prematurely for incremental success because “more work still has to be done”. He recommends to his countrymen that they save money (okay maybe targeting travel was a bit harsh). He has had a career in politics, (haven’t most politicians?) and oh, by the way, horrors, he has worked for his living even as a student. Even his “willingness to switch alliances” is pinned on the weak decision to change his alliance to a football club. It is a pity that the rather sarcastic tone of this profile obscures the content in order to raise eyebrows and hackles. It would make an interesting Euro Poll to ask citizens if they would prefer the scoundrels or those qualified like Steinbrück to collect a government pay cheque.