Rather than forcing Germans, whose savings rates and current account surplus results from years of fiscal prudence, to lend even more money and suffer higher inflation so that the southern tier can receive more monetary stimulus, Dombret argues the citizens of deficit economies must spend less while working, producing and saving more.

FORBES: Germany And China Have The Gold And Will Make The Rules

While the monied hob-nobbed around cosmopolitan London, the Black Country got grimy producing the country's wealth, and perhaps as a consequence, its citizens were regarded as dull.

BBC: By BBC News Online's Liz Doig