A lesson from Tony Blair

摘要

German leftwingers generally see Britain as a den of rapacious free-market capitalism. So it was striking this week that members of the British low-pay commission were greeted in Berlin with open arms by such traditional lefties as Oskar Lafon-taine, the Left Party's parliamentary leader, and Andrea Nahles, a leading Social Democrat. Their interest in British labour-market policies reflects a debate over what to do about Germany's army of low-paid workers and long-term unemployed. To some, Britain's minimum wage, combined with wage subsidies, offers a model.