Europe: U.S. spending ‘a way to hell’

TEXT OF STORY

Renita Jablonski: In Europe, one politician says the U.S. plans to spend its way out of the recession is, quote, “a way to hell.” That comment came today from the Czech Prime Minister. With more overseas reaction, here’s Christopher Werth.

Christopher Werth: Obama is unlikely to have won many converts. European leaders are brushing off Washington’s pleas to match the kind of stimulus spending going forward in the U.S.

Daniel Gros of the Center for European Policy studies says part of the problem might be the administration’s recent plan to buy up toxic assets.

Daniel Gros: Obama has lost a lot of credibility in Europe with this latest plan. It is widely perceived as being insufficient, half-baked, extremely complicated, doubtful whether it will work, and that same leader is asking us to be more bold on fiscal spending.

Washington’s special relationship with Britain may not prove very helpful, either. On the same day the president suggested other countries might need to step up their stimulus measures, the governor of the Bank of England. Mervyn King, warned British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to rein in government spending.

In London, I’m Christopher Werth for Marketplace.