“Irish politicians say jibes at Germans by some of the country’s former bankers undermine their case for securing help to cut the 64 billion-euro ($83 billion) bill for saving the financial system. John Bowe, a former executive at the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank Corp., sang ‘Deutschland Ueber Alles’, according to recordings of 2008 conversations that were published this week. Irish borrowing costs surged in 2010 as investors grew concerned about the mounting burden on the taxpayer. Now the government is trying to persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other euro-region leaders to refund part of what was spent on saving the country’s lenders.”
