Quote:
Originally posted by sychung4650
London maybe the de facto financial centre of the world, but that doesn't negate the fact that as a whole country, Germany's economy > UK's economy...and Frankfurt is one of mainland Europe's financial centers (along with Paris, Zurich, and Luxembourg), and the Rhein-Ruhr region also holds lots of clout. Germany has lots of political influence, too. As the biggest economy in Europe, it has lots of political power even with things not directly related to the economy.
@ you giving the "Commonwealth" and "Francophonie" any sort of legitimacy in this argument...What does Canada have to do with the UK's power? Or Belgium related to Francophonie? Going by that, you can give Leichtenstein, Switzerland, and Austria to Germany's influence...and Switzerland + Austria >>> Canada + Australia or Belgium + Monaco
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According to the Global Financial Centres Index, #1 New York and #2 London are the world's financial centres and they are both 30 points ahead of the 3rd city (Hong Kong). Zurich is ranked at #5, Frankfurt is ranked at #11, Paris is ranked #37 and Luxembourg is ranked at #11.
Source:
http://www.longfinance.net/images/GF...5March2014.pdf
In terms of overall economy, Germany's economy is the largest in Europe. However, economics alone does not make a country powerful.
As the biggest economy in Europe, it has a lot of political power within Europe. Outside of Europe, it does not have a lot of political power compared to France and the UK.
UK and France have more political power internationally. Both France and the UK are permanent members of the UN Security Council,
meaning both countries can block the adoption of a resolution. The UK's influence on the Commonwealth shouldn't be underestimated either. UK has a lot of influence over its Commonwealth members. Not to mention countries such as Australia and Canada have Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. Queen Elizabeth II is the Commander-In-Chief of the British, Australian and Canadian armed forces. France's influence on the Francophonie also should not be underestimated either. France is one of Africa's biggest trading partner. Many African countries are members of the Francophonie and also co-ordinate with France with trade, military and security. Africa is home to some of the largest emerging markets in the world, so much so that China and the USA are fighting over influence.
I'm not saying Germany is not powerful, it is a powerful country and I admire Germany a lot but when you look at it from a global perspective UK and France just simply have more political and military clout.