Final dose of dishonest rhetoric

I guess it's business as usual for Gerhard Schroeder with his revolting pandering to (totally unfounded) popular prejudices:

The chancellor seemed to enjoy himself, taking parting shots at some of his rivals, including the British prime minister, with whom he has clashed over the future direction of the European Union, and emphasised his preferred partnership with Paris.
"I say to my British friend that people in Germany, in Europe, don't want complete denationalisation, they don't want the privatisation of lifetime risks," he said.
"The Anglo-Saxon model will have no chance in Europe," Schroeder added.
"Anyone who wants to defend the European social model must ensure that the German-French relationship remains intact."
Schroeder also took a jab at the US president over the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, which he said showed the need for a strong and effective state able to help people.
"I don't want to name any examples of catastrophes, where you can see what happens when there is no organised state. I could name countries, but the office I still hold forbids that - but everybody knows I mean America," he said, drawing laughter and long applause.

I am delighted to hear he is finally leaving. As Davids Medienkritik notes, statism really helped here:

France recorded 11,435 extra deaths during a heat wave in the first two weeks of August when temperatures soared over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), according to officials.

Amazingly many Germans seem to enjoy listening to this load of tripe. What they should be wondering about (but apparently aren't) is why the leader of a country that has lower public spending on healthcare than the US has the gall to make such ridiculous statements (do follow the link and see the graphs, they are really worth it). Truly, as the saying goes, there are none so blind as those who will not see.