Head to the checkout at an Ikea in Stockholm to pay for your new leather corner sofa and with the swipe of a Visa card it is yours. Do not try that in Berlin — that will be 1,699 euros (NT$64,000) up front please.
It is that financial culture — a deep-seated aversion to debt and an emphasis on responsibility — that makes Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hardline approach to solving the European financial crisis so popular in Germany.
The attitude shows up in all walks of life, from the daily trip to the grocery store to putting a roof over your head.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
The economy is so reliant on cash for transactions small and big, a way to ensure you do not spend more than you have, that Germany pushed hard for the 500 euro note to replace its popular 1,000 mark bill when it joined the common currency.
Around the world Merkel has been derided as intransigent in her approach to the financial crisis, demanding budget cuts and fiscal austerity from allegedly profligate EU members. But her hardline stand plays well among the people who elected her.
A new poll for Stern magazine shows 64 percent of Germans think the chancellor should stick to her guns, while only 32 percent think she should reconsider her insistence on austerity.
(AP)
到斯德哥爾摩的宜家家居結帳櫃台替你的新角落皮沙發買單，只要刷一下威士卡，沙發就是你的了。在柏林可不能試這招，你得當場掏出一千六百九十九歐元（約新台幣六萬四千元）。
正是這種財務文化，也就是對債務根深柢固的厭惡及對責任的強調，才讓德國總理安潔拉˙梅克爾對解決歐洲金融危機所採取的強硬手段在德國這麼受歡迎。
從到雜貨店進行日常購物，到尋找一個棲身之所，這種態度展現在生活的各個面向中。
由於德國經濟非常仰賴現金來進行大大小小的交易，確保不會超支消費，以致德國在加入歐元區時就極力推動印製面額五百元的歐元紙鈔，來取代原本很受歡迎的千元德國馬克紙鈔。
在全球各地，梅克爾都曾因為在解決歐洲金融危機上採取強硬不妥協立場、要求被指為過度揮霍的歐盟成員國刪減預算並實施財政緊縮政策而遭到譏諷。但她的強硬立場在投票選出她為總理的選民間卻極受歡迎。
根據《Stern》週刊最新民調顯示，有百分之六十四的德國人認為總理應堅守立場，只有百分之三十二的民眾認為她該重新考量堅持撙節政策的做法。
（美聯社/翻譯：俞智敏）
Many of us face common health challenges: tired eyes from long screen use, the search for anti-aging support and the need for weight control without resorting to restrictive diets. While no single food is a miracle cure, berries offer targeted, evidence-based nutritional support that’s easy and delicious to add to your daily routine. For overall immunity and healthy skin, vitamin C is essential. Strawberries provide roughly 10 percent more vitamin C than oranges, while blackcurrants deliver three to four times as much. These tasty fruits also contain abundant polyphenols, which help the body manage oxidative stress, support overall
A: Why didn’t you come to work earlier this week? Did you go anywhere for fun? B: I went to Thailand with friends to celebrate the 2026 Water Festival, also known as the Songkran Festival. The three-day annual celebrations ran from April 13 to 15. Everyone was having water fights in the streets. A: I know that “Songkran” is the traditional New Year in Southeast Asia, usually celebrated in mid-April. B: And we also attended the 2026 Siam Songkran Music Festival this time. The EDM shows by Martin Garrix — who has been crowned the World’s No. 1 DJ by “DJ
Handing down a name over generations is a central part of the Japanese traditional theater art of Kabuki, and that ceremony gets celebrated at theaters and special events every few years. Now, the ritual is taking place with the eighth Kikugoro, who is having that honor passed down from his 83-year-old father, the seventh Kikugoro, who in turn got that name from his father. “Taking on the name is about taking on the spirit and responsibility that’s created and getting passed down over generations by those who came before us,” the younger Kikugoro, Kazuyasu Terajima, told reporters recently. Another famous family name in
A: Apart from the Thai Water Festival, Taiwan’s three major Matsu pilgrimages are among Asia’s largest annual folk activities. B: This year, “Baisha-ma” of the Baishatun Gongtian Temple in Miaoli County was the first to kick off her pilgrimage, with the deity departing on April 12 and returning on the 20. A: Then “Dajia-ma” of the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung will set off next, departing tonight before midnight and returning on April 26. B: And what about “Beigang-ma” of Yunlin County’s Beigang Chao-tian Temple? When will she launch her procession? A: Typically, “Beigang-ma” begins her procession on the eve of her lunar
RSS