Samah El-Shahat, Al Jazeera’s resident economist, writes a regular column analysing key events that contributed to the global financial downturn and its impact across the world.
Have you heard the joke about the German who woke up one day after his country’s September 27 general election to find out that things are not at all as they seemed to be the night before, that things are actually so bad that he could be forgiven for thinking that he is still in bed experiencing a cruel nightmare? And I shall resist from making any Kafka references here.
But this is no nightmare – it is reality. Okay, I grant you, it is no joke either.
So, what could have possibly happened in 24 hours, you may ask. And before you attempt to work it out, let me give you a hint: It has nothing to do with who wins the election but has everything to do with the state of the German economy.