The queue in Bremen is shorter IS SPAIN the next Germany? It may not feel like that to the 26% of Spaniards who are unemployed. GDP shrank by 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012. Yet in some ways, Spain resembles the Germany of a decade ago, when Gerhard Schröder brought in reforms to turn the sick man of Europe into its strongest economy. The efforts by Mariano Rajoy’s government to loosen labor laws and cut public spending are aimed at a German-style miracle.Mr Rajoy claims that his government will lead the economy out of recession. There are early, if shaky, signs of progress. Unit labor costs are falling, partly because productivity is climbing. The current account has turned positive. And the number of self-employed workers is starting to rise even as unemployment increases.Joachim Fels, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, is one of several backers of the Germany theory. “Spain is doing a lot of the things Germany did ten years ago, but in a much shorter time span and tougher global conditions,” he says, pointing to falling labor costs, rising exports and booming Spanish car factories. But, he adds, “Spain becoming Germany is really…
