Time for action

Detlev von Larcher, is member of the national coordinating committee for the action group Attac and a former Social Democratic Party parliamentarian. Protests against austerity and the power of the banking sector took place in Germany and across the world on Saturday, taking a cue from the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in New York and "'Indignant" protesters in Spain. Deutsche Welle spoke to von Larcher about what demonstrators in Germany want from politicians.

Deutsche Welle: Do the protests aimed at the German finance system take their lead from the United States?

Detlev von Larcher: We are not taking only America as our model. This movement in fact began in Spain. As early as May this year, we were called upon to hold a worldwide day of action and this has been happening, with over 700 protests in cities around the world."

Do you think it is likely that such protests can be successful in Germany where there are very different - and largely better - circumstances than in Spain or the United States?

We have to recognize that we belong to the people for whom things really are going well. There are also, of course, many people in Germany who are doing very badly. I read a headline today in my regional newspaper: "500,000 children in Germany are starving."

But the situation in Germany is comparatively rosy compared with Spain, where youth unemployment is almost 50 percent.

I would not wish to praise the "rosy" situation here in Germany. It is, of course, correct. Of course there is a difference and to argue otherwise would be stupid. What this is about, more than anything, is that there is always money available to save banks while we are experiencing more and more cuts and cancellations to social services. That is why they are actually saying in New York "We are the 99 percent." The 1 percent on Wall Street, they say, is dictating how things should be. People want to have their say and so they are demanding more democracy and less power for banks. That is something that is just as important in Germany as it is in New York, Spain, Greece or, indeed, anywhere.

Do you not believe these demands have also been adopted in mainstream German politics? Social Democratic Party leader Sigmar Gabriel, for example, said banks must not be rescued a second time unless they are straightened out. Isn't that not what you have in mind?"

That is absolutely correct. We have been demanding this for a long time. We saw just that during the first crisis. Or take the Greek crisis, for example. When Greece receives money, that money goes straight back to the banks, including German banks, and the Greek people have to accept cuts and various other measures that damage society. That means that they are trying to have the citizens, average people, pay for the crisis rather than paying for from the profits of the finance markets.

There is now almost a consensus that private creditors and banks should to write off 21 percent is the case of a default. Are the national deficits, not the banking crisis, the big problem right now?

National debts are already very large. However, when I hear in discussions that the banks are accusing politicians of getting into debt - when these accusations come directly from the banks that have been saved with state money - this is something that I find quite absurd.

"If, for instance, you think of this like a viral illness, then you can see that virus has been transmitted from banks to states and from states to banks. The cause is enormous speculation on the finance markets and that is at the root of the problem and that has to be resolved.

What concrete demands would you now make from German politicians?

We would ask, for example, that money to save banks comes from a new source - namely the profits of the finance market, and from the really rich people out there as well. Think about levies and taxes on property. We also think that banks must be taken apart. Investment banks and retail banks have to be separated from each other.

There must be a ban on certain things that are traded on the finance markets, short sales, for example. A financial transaction tax should also be introduced. We have already come some way with our demand for this, with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [French President Nicholas] Sarkozy now in favor of it.

We have to enjoy solidarity with Greece and, for example, issue eurobonds. However, that must also mean that Europe sets social and economic standards and moves together even more closely."

Author: Martin Zagatta / rc

Editor: Sean Sinico