It's the issue that just won't go away. For weeks, Germany has been in the grips of what has -- somewhat disingenuously -- been called the "capitalism debate." Why disingenuous? Because the "debate" has rarely exhibited any characteristics of what could remotely be called substance. It all started a month ago when the head of the governing Social Democrats, Franz Muentefering, calling those in the financial industry "locusts." He was then pilloried by economic leaders as a populist -- and by German commentators, somewhat incongruously, as an anti-Semite. The name-calling has continued on throughout much of the month with one or two editorialists a day taking a stab at contextualizing the "discussion." To no avail.

On Thursday, it's back in the headlines again. At the Wednesday shareholders' meeting, the head of Germany's powerful Deutsche Bank, Josef Ackermann, attacked Muentefering by saying he is using slogans "from the period of socialism," and called his anti-capitalism crusade, "shameful." Since this is the same Ackermann who was partially responsible for the debate in the first place -- earlier this year he announced record Deutsche Bank profits and the laying off of 6,400 workers in the same breath -- German commentators were quick to pounce.

The center-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung turns Ackermann's comments into their lead story on an otherwise slow news day -- and also comments on him in its editorial pages. Ackermann, it writes, has been transformed into a symbol. "When one is all the way at the top, one can't be overly sensitive," notes the paper, "still, the accusations against Ackermann ... are out of all proportion." Particularly, the paper writes, because the public has no clear understanding of the management strategies Ackermann is pursuing. Furthermore, most of those laid off by Ackermann are well-trained and competent middle managers who will have little trouble finding work. Nevertheless, "when there is such a fundamental misunderstanding as that which exists between Deutsche Bank and the public, both sides are guilty. Ackermann would be doing himself a favor, were he to invest heavily in the relationship."

The Financial Times Deutschland likewise takes a look at the "miserable image" of Deutsche Bank. The fault for much of this image problem, the paper writes, is to be laid at the feet of the bank itself. Ackermann is seen by the public as arrogant and his announcement of the big layoff -- as understandable as it may have been from an economic standpoint -- was handled miserably. Something must be done. "Of course, the goal of a bank cannot be to kowtow to public sensibilities, but it could be vital in achieving the bank's goals." After all, the paper points out, Ackermann has said he wants to win over more private customers -- which might be difficult in the current atmosphere.

Germany's other financial daily, the Handelsblatt, chose to focus on another aspect of the debate. The German government has introduced a proposal that would require managers of publicly-traded companies to publish their salaries. The paper points out that the move is long overdue, considering the fact that it is already law in the United States, Britain and many other economically powerful countries. "The shareholders of a company have the right to know what that company's managers earn." And not just that. Managers also need to come clean about the other perks they receive, from pension packages to stock options. "None of this has anything to do with socialism. Rather, it has much more to do with recovering lost trust in the country's economic elite."