Month: May 2020

To keep international investors’ trust, we must remain squeaky clean in our fundamental economic institutions. If we are not, New Zealand will come out of the Covid-19 crisis as a broken economy and a failed state.

Kaum ein Land hat in der Corona-Krise so positiv auf sich aufmerksam gemacht wie Neuseeland und seine Premierministerin Jacinda Ardern. Sie wurde dafür gefeiert, wie souverän sie das Virus besiegt hat. Bei genauem Blick entpuppt sich das Wunder als Medienhype.

New Zealand fought hard to beat the virus and now it deserves to seize an economic opportunity. Safely and selectively, the border can be re-opened to anyone prepared to undergo a strict quarantine – whether they are football players, investors or students.

It should have been a budget to steer New Zealand out of this economic depression. But it reads like a budget in an election year.

First, I never want to hear another excited word about shovel-ready projects. Second, I would like to see decent cost-benefit analyses before any new spending project. And third, I wish the public service would curb any over-enthusiastic minister on their respective pet projects.

If at some point this crisis is no longer acute, then the Franco-German axis will feature only in history books – and the EU will not be able to find a replacement for it anytime soon.

Our recovery path will be bumpy. But good policy development can help clear the road and lead us towards a better future.