Many rightly applaud the coalition government for maintaining a tough fiscal line.
But German diplomacy within Europe is driven by one overriding concern: to hold the fiscal line against calls for a more expansive approach.
He added that the government should be applauded "for maintaining a tough fiscal line", and urged it to hold its nerve as its pushes through deep public sector cuts.
That helps explain why the I.M.F. has started adopting a less austere stance toward debtor countries, even as countries like Germany continue to take a hard fiscal line, insisting that Athens stick to a program of lower spending and higher taxes.
Germany will no longer sign the cheques if it cannot show its electorate that Italy is toeing the fiscal line.
On the other hand, the new Prime Minister, along with his associate in government, Panos Kammenos, has the delicate task of concluding a new loan agreement with his European partners while also maintaining a tough fiscal line in order to keep the budget balanced or, in the least, not let it exceed the European benchmark of three percent of GDP.
"When our fiscal bottom lines are compared in this election – [the government] will have that [$48bn company tax] black hole and we'll have our spending and savings commitments, we've taken a fiscally responsible approach".
Agreeing to such fiscal red lines, however, could make it harder for Mr. Mas to meet budget deficit targets set by Madrid, as well as reduce a Catalan debt pile that is by far the largest in the country — about €42 billion, or $54.4 billion, out of a total of €140 billion for Spain's 17 regions.
All the fiscal expenditure lines mentioned above comprise the total investment budget, and their effects are not independent.
Obama's budget starts what should be a relatively peaceful year on Washington's fiscal front lines.
