So, what exactly has aroused the ire of the Estonian president? This:
Since Estonia has suddenly become the poster child for austerity defenders — they’re on the euro and they’re booming! — I thought it might be useful to have a picture of what we’re talking about. Here’s real GDP, from Eurostat:
So, a terrible — Depression-level — slump, followed by a significant but still incomplete recovery. Better than no recovery at all, obviously — but this is what passes for economic triumph?
The broken-window enthusiast and global economics expert (a Nobel Prize confers lifelong credibility, remember) has clearly struck a nerve with President Ilves, who let loose on Twitter:
Let's write about something we know nothing about & be smug, overbearing & patronizing: after all, they're just wogs: http://t.co/EWZ5YCIT
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) June 6, 2012
Guess a Nobel in trade means you can pontificate on fiscal matters & declare my country a "wasteland". Must be a Princeton vs Columbia thing
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) June 6, 2012
But yes, what do we know? We're just dumb & silly East Europeans. Unenlightened. Someday we too will understand. Nostra culpa.
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) June 6, 2012
Let's sh*t on East Europeans: their English is bad, won't respond & actually do what they've agreed to & reelect govts that are responsible.
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) June 6, 2012
Sorry, not conserv. or leftist. Just can't fathom why following agreed upon EU fiscal rules justifies smug & snide gloating re: my country.
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) June 6, 2012
The verbal body-checking drew plenty of admiration from the Twitterverse:
https://twitter.com/llondo/status/210488356763746304
https://twitter.com/BrianRKnight/status/210488385880600576
Apparently the president of Estonia, @IlvesToomas, likes owning Paul Krugman on twitter. #awesome #FollowHim
— Eric Hughes (@EricHughesSD) June 6, 2012
https://twitter.com/DelMadden/status/210486691570528257
To apologize to Estonia, Paul Krugman is going to hire kids to run around Estonia breaking windows to stimulate the economy.
— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) June 6, 2012
Hey @NYTimesKrugman, The President of Estonia, @IlvesToomas, just pantsed you on Twitter. How did it feel? #tcot #p2
— RBe (@RBPundit) June 6, 2012
https://twitter.com/altmandaniel/status/210485564120641537
https://twitter.com/miketotheg/status/210490822641205249
I loved Estonia for so many reasons. Now, I've also discovered that they have the coolest President EVER (if his Twitter acc isn't a fake).
— Luca Lucchetta (@LucaLucc) June 6, 2012
And that’s the thing: as of right now, we’re not 100 percent positive it’s actually the president of Estonia tweeting from that account. The account isn’t currently verified, after all. And, well, expressions like “chill” and “y’all” aren’t exactly common in Eastern Europe …
Chill. Just because my country's policy runs against the Received Wisdom & I object doesn't mean y'all gotta follow me. http://t.co/oab5TQ3q
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) June 6, 2012
But then, Ilves attended college and graduate school in the U.S., so maybe he just has a soft spot for our lingo.
What we do know is that Toomas Ilves most definitely is the president of Estonia. And Paul Krugman definitely is due for a verbal slap … Please oh please oh please, President Ilves. Your follower count has jumped by nearly 1,000 since your first tweet at Krugman. Please be for real! Don’t let us down!
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