Alexander Privitera a Geoeconomics Non-Resident Senior Fellow at AGI. He is a columnist at BRINK news and professor at Marconi University. He was previously Senior Policy Advisor at the European Banking Federation and was the head of European affairs at Commerzbank AG. He focuses primarily on Germany’s European policies and their impact on relations between the United States and Europe. Previously, Mr. Privitera was the Washington-based correspondent for the leading German news channel, N24. As a journalist, over the past two decades he has been posted to Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, and Rome. Mr. Privitera was born in Rome, Italy, and holds a degree in Political Science (International Relations and Economics) from La Sapienza University in Rome.
Waiting for Action: Euro Zone Challenges Continue During Long Coalition Negotiations
There is growing unease in Germany and abroad about the lengthy negotiations between the Christian Democrats of Chancellor Angela Merkel and their potential coalition partners, the Social Democrats. Some commentators …
Shaping Transatlantic Solutions: Challenges of the 2012 and 2013 Elections
The U.S. elections in 2012 and the German elections in 2013 demonstrate that, despite their geographic distance, the two countries are confronted by both similar and shared problems: debt crises, …
German-American Fault Lines
Austerity versus growth is back with a vengeance. German politicians were caught completely off guard by the latest U.S. Treasury report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies. …
Fighting over Backstops: Who Should Pay for Troubled Banks?
The European Central Bank (ECB) has published it’s criteria for a comprehensive assessment of banks’ balance sheets. This move represents the opening salvo in what should be the final round …
Kicking the Can Down the Road? Fears and Expectations on the Debt Ceiling
Both the ongoing partial shutdown of the U.S. Federal Government and Congress’ struggle to raise the debt ceiling are keeping investors on the edge of their seats ― unsure if …
Merkel’s Triumph: Relief for the Euro and the Economy
The Bundestag election results confirmed that Germans would like Chancellor Merkel to continue to look after them. Angela Merkel got a clear mandate, but not a blank check. Talks with …
The Final Rush: How Will the Election Impact Europe?
The resounding victory for the Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in the Bavarian state elections last Sunday marks the opening of …
Staring at the Fed
As U.S. investors and economists continue to debate the wisdom of the Federal Reserve’s unconventional monetary policies and the timing of the gradual exit from them, all is quiet on …
A Dispatch from the Frontline
So far the European summer is proving to be a far cry from last year’s panicky crisis mode. The euro zone is still intact. The latest available data point to …
Bailing In while Bailing Out
European finance ministers have finally agreed to a set of rules that should govern future bank resolutions, i.e. clarify who will pay for shutting down failing institutions. If the aim …
Debating the Role of German Leadership
What does Germany want? Almost four years after the outbreak of the euro crisis, many Europeans still ask themselves this very question. In a recent interview with the German weekly …
Bernanke’s Exit Strategy
If the Fed’s intention is to prepare financial markets for a smooth exit from its expansionary non-standard policies, then Chairman Ben Bernanke has failed spectacularly up to this point. His …
