Exploring the Keynesian–Ordoliberal Divide. Flexibility and Convergence in French and German Leaders’ Economic Ideas During the Euro-Crisis

Abstract

The Euro-crisis is the most severe crisis the European Union has ever faced. Despite its scale and urgency, political and financial leaders have struggled to find its solution. Several observers have traced this inability back to the divide between states adhering to Ordoliberal and those advocating Keynesian policies, Germany and France in particular. Preceding the question of whether and how leaders’ policy ideas influenced decision-making, however, is the question to what extent such paradigmatic divide actually existed. To provide an in-depth and dynamic view of the French and German divide, this study uses the technique of Comparative Cognitive Mapping to explore the extent to which the views of Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy and the German and French central bank presidents, Weber and Noyer, may be characterised as Ordoliberal or Keynesian. Moreover, the article analyses how the crisis affected these ideas. The study finds that in paradigmatic terms, leaders’ policy views are rather ambiguous and flexible. Moreover, it shows that the Euro-crisis actually fostered a convergence in views towards a more modest Ordoliberal view rather than a greater divide. Remarkably, this convergence moves the group consensus towards a more compromising position, away from the traditional position of the dominant partner, Germany.