European shift to the right could benefit the economy

Lothar Spaeth may soon become the most important man in Europe. Edmund Stoiber, who's trying to unseat German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, has gone on record to say he would appoint Spaeth as Economy and Labour Minister, charged with reviving Europe's biggest but most damaged economy. Spaeth looks like a smart choice. A politician turned businessman, he steered Jenoptik AG through privatisation and made it one of the few successful international businesses to emerge from the old East Germany. The appointment may prove just right for a country with mass unemployment and sluggish growt...