Letters to the editor – 05/09 – Merkel and the EU, Sporting success, Best of Twitter
Merkel and the EU
[Re: Merkel must find a bold new vision or Europe will continue towards disaster, yesterday]
Lars Christensen is right to argue that the German Chancellor must set out a vision for the future of Europe. Unfortunately, such a vision looks unlikely to materialise. The philosopher Jurgen Harbemas last week published an essay diagnosing the source of the problem as the failure to confront the “German question”. How should Germany relate to the rest of Europe? As the leader of Europe, as it sometimes acts, or as one of several? The nation has equivocated on this difficult question, and politicians are continuing to ignore it.
Name Withheld
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Sporting success
[Re: It’s official: Why the statistics show even England could win the World Cup, yesterday]
Paul Ormerod highlights research asserting that the outcomes of 50 per cent of Premier League matches are down to chance. I wonder how he squares this assertion with the fact that the same teams tend to dominate the sport. Between 1995 and 2011, only Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal won the league, with United winning 10, and the other two winning three titles each. If half of the matches were determined randomly, you would expect a much higher volatility of winners over such a long time period.
Maurice Johnson
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BEST OF TWITTER
It must be clear to everyone that the “cuts will lead to perma-slump” narrative is a totally dead now.
@AndrewLilico
Britain has suffered a catastrophic fall from 4 to 28 in the World Economic Forum’s infrastructure rankings .
@ChukaUmunna
Unemployment is a problem that needs tackling by government, central banks should focus on inflation.
@shortsterling
With UK Services PMI at 60.5, economy is heading for escape velocity and does not need forward guidance.
@notayesmansecon