Return the telecom money now

Any corporation that managed a deal in which it lost E60bn might expect to find shareholders baying for its blood. Yet the German government, despite a stunning display of financial ineptitude, remains in power. Next year it might even get re-elected. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his colleagues should be thankful they have only the relatively simple task of running Germany and don't have to do anything complicated for a living, like running a bratwurst stand, a task that would doubtless stretch their fiscal abilities to the breaking point. Initially, the German government no doubt t...