The German finance minister has launched an outspoken attack on the UK government's plans to help pull Britain out of the economic downturn.

BBC

"In an unusual breach of standard diplomacy, Peer Steinbruck attacked the UK's decision to cut VAT and raise the national debt to record levels.Mr Steinbruck said the UK's switch from financial prudence to heavy borrowing was both "crass" and "breathtaking"."All this will do is raise Britain's debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off."Saying the UK government was now "tossing around billions", Mr Steinbruck questioned why Britain was now closely following the high public spending model put forward by 20th Century economist John Maynard Keynes."The switch from decades of supply-side politics all the way to a crass Keynesianism is breathtaking," he said."When I ask about the origins of the [financial] crisis, economists I respect tell me it is the credit-financed growth of recent years and decades."Isn't this the same mistake everyone is suddenly making again, under all the public pressure?"