Joachim Starbatty speaks out as breakaway Eurosceptic party Alternative für Deutschland holds founding conference
One of Germany's most eminent economists has called for the swift dissolution of the eurozone in its present form, arguing that the vision of a united Europe is in danger of imploding if debt-ridden countries are not shown the door.
Speaking before the founding conference on Sunday of a new breakaway political movement which wants to fiercely challenge Germany's support for eurozone bailouts, Joachim Starbatty, a professor of political economics who has filed repeated complaints with Germany's constitutional court arguing that eurozone bailouts are unconstitutional, said the EU would collapse if the eurozone battle was allowed to continue.
"Europe is tearing itself apart right now," said Starbatty. "A currency which is supposed to have united a continent is doing precisely the opposite. And it is weak and ailing largely due to the fact that individual members are no longer in the position to be able to sustain it. Therefore it would be better if these countries that are not competitive, like Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, etc, were to leave." An alternative, he argued, would be for Germany to leave.
Starbatty is a staunch supporter of Alternative für Deutschland (Alternatives for Germany), which held its inaugural party conference on Sunday. The movement is made up of intellectuals, from surgeons to economists – the number of professors has caused it to be dubbed the "professor party" — as well as small and medium business leaders and retired professionals. It already has 6,000 members and is set to liven up Germany's national election in six months' time.
With a name inspired by "alternativlos", meaning "there are no alternatives" – a word which the chancellor, Angela Merkel, has used in defence of many of her policies including eurozone bailouts – the party wants to prove her wrong, particularly in the case of the euro. Many would like to see the return of the deutschmark.
Analysts are sceptical that AfD will garner the 5% of votes necessary to gain seats in the Bundestag.
"Economically Germany is continuing to doing well, which impairs the chances of protest parties considerably," said Richard Hilmer from the opinion pollsters Infratest Dimap.
But AfD still poses a grave threat to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian sister party, the CSU, and the pro-business Free Democrats, all of which are in a coalition which they hope will be re-elected on 22 September.
Even the loss of a few hundred seats could force Merkel to invite the centre-left Social Democrats to join her in a grand coalition, which would necessitate a watering down of her policies, or cost her power altogether.
"At the election any votes for the AfD could really hurt the CDU," admitted Wolfgang Bosbach of the CDU. His colleague Klaus-Peter Willsch added: "Such a party is dangerous for us."
Starbatty says the AfD's aim is to "shake awake the political elite" of both Germany and Europe. His profile is typical of that of other members – a long-standing member of the CDU who left in protest at how Germany has been forced into the role of Europe's disciplinarian in order to uphold its pro-European stance as it tries to save a currency which he argues was "flawed from birth".
"Many German politicians are sticking their heads into the sand," he said.
"They do not want to admit the reality that their dream project cannot continue to function in its current state because they believe so much in the dream and they fear being seen as anti-European.
"They fail to recognise we need to find a healthy way forward, which despite being painful will help propel Europe upwards."
The 72-year old, who describes himself as an economist of the Adam Smith school, recalled the then chancellor Konrad Adenauer's first visit to Greece in the 1950s. "Then, only seven policemen were needed. When Merkel visited in 2012, 7,000 police protected her. What does that tell you about the feelings of solidarity Europe is supposed to have forged?"
Starbatty resents the label "anti-European" that the party is often given, preferring instead "Eurosceptic". He also rejects the comparisons with Ukip, with which he says AfD has very little in common.
"We are pro-Europe – we want to save it, and the only way to do that is to either dissolve or consolidate the eurozone. It is not, nor will it in its current form, bringing the peace and unity that its creators promised," he insisted.
The party is screening all potential members to ensure no far-right elements enter its ranks, after criticisms that it would attract neo-Nazis.
"This comes from the German idea that if you're not with the majority you must have extremist leanings," said Starbatty. That is one of the reasons it is far from easy to found a new party in Germany.
Rejecting outright as it does the policies of Merkel, the party is far more inclined to align itself with the British prime minister, David Cameron.
"We're by far from being in agreement with everything Cameron says, but we respect his plan to hold a referendum," said Konrad Adam, a journalist and former publisher of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung who is one of the founding members of AfD.
"He has a British sense of realism, a cool and healthy approach, which we could do with more of in Germany," added Starbatty.
A recent poll suggested that 26% of Germans, fearful of the future of their economy and resentful that their savings had suffered, were prepared to vote for an anti-euro party. The figure rose to 40% for the 40 to 49-year-old age group.
But one problem the fledgling party might face is the advanced average age of its members which one observer estimated to be "only slightly under that of the Vatican conclave", But the party's would-be leadership insisted that many younger supporters are waiting in the wings to "see how the party develops before committing themselves".
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