We proved him wrong, thankfully

Wolfgang Schaeuble was an emblem in German politics, one of the pioneers of European integration, a catalyst in the unification of the two Germanies - he probably made it happen on the economic front - and, of course, one of Europe's longest-serving MPs, having served in the Bundestag for more than 50 years. A politician with a will of iron, he spent nearly half his life confined to a wheelchair, yet always went above and beyond the call of duty, sticking out the interminable sessions of the Eurogroup as they dragged on into the early hours during the Greek crisis.

As for Greece, his role was not as creative as it had been in the unification of Germany, since he believed rather too firmly in austerity and the German dogma of ordoliberalism, and not enough in the need for flexibility and realism. More importantly, he made one critical mistake, and I say this with absolute...