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Merkel: Opel Is Not Vital to the Economy

German chancellor Angela Merkel requires a better survival plan to be forwarded by Opel, but warns that even if it does so and the plan is approved, it is unlikely the aid will come in the form of cash. The reason is simple: Opel is not crucial to the German economy, Merkel stated.

"We'll help if the positives for everyone outweigh the negatives. The plan still needs to be improved and clarified," the chancellor was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Opel appears to follow the footprints left behind by Swedish company Saab. In its case, the Swedish government also warned it will not intervene unless a real viable plan is submitted. Opel's cause seems to be even more disastrous, as Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's interior minister said the company should not rule out an insolvency filling.

"If the business model is suitable for the future, an insolvency can also help to retain jobs. Our insolvency law gives firms the chance to write off debt and continue operations," Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the country's economy minister told the WirtschaftsWoche weekly magazine.

Not all voices in Germany agree with the official position adopted by the government. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a default opponent of the Merkel cabinet, told Bild am Sonntag that raising the insolvency issue is an "irresponsible" move.

"I know from experience that in these situations you're most likely to get results if you bring the decisive players around the table and work together on a plan," Steinmeier, who will face Merkel in election, told the source.

Axel Berg, a member of the lower house of parliament's economics committee disagrees with his party colleague, Steinmeier, and sums it up for all in a very descriptive manner: "We can't expect the taxpayer to put up with just carrying on as before: pumping in state funds to perform a sort of care for the dying, so that the corpse is carted to and from the graveyard and not buried until later."

Were does the truth lie? Opel's corpse, together with other bodies GM will leave behind after it stampedes out of Europe, might comprise some 300,000 people.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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