Conveniently forgot to mention that 155% is external debt -- at least I assume so because Germany certainly does not have 155% public debt, the figure that normally gets compared. A large external debt can be worrying but it's not a meaningful figure alone, without knowing how much the country lends and to whom.

Greece on the other hand has 160% public debt, more than double the number for Germany and France. That's why everyone thinks they're fucked.

If you are saying we should care more about _external_ debts instead of total of all lending, just say so: I might be inclined to agree. But somehow claiming that Germany is doing just as badly as Greece based on that... seems a bit far fetched. The point isn't that Germany is safe from some future bursting of a bubble, the point is that Greece cannot pay its lenders _tomorrow_.