Krugman talks about Monti and his catastrophic embrace of austerity when he was installed by the European Union.

What I want to point out is this rather interesting paragraph buried toward the end of his OP/ED

For Mr. Monti was, in effect, the proconsul installed by Germany to enforce fiscal austerity on an already ailing economy; willingness to pursue austerity without limit is what defines respectability in European policy circles. This would be fine if austerity policies actually worked — but they don’t. And far from seeming either mature or realistic, the advocates of austerity are sounding increasingly petulant and delusional.

(emphasis mine)

It’s an odd turn of phrase, “The proconsul installed by Germany,” and I’m wondering if he is making an oblique reference to Vidkun Quisling.

Of course, were he to make a direct reference to the infamous Norwegian collaborator in the pages of The Times, at least in the terms of current policy and politics, he would not be in the pages of The Times for much longer.