Second was the topic he [Dr. Schäuble] chose to turn to instead: his theory that the ‘overgenerous’ European social model was no longer sustainable and had to be ditched. Comparing the costs to Europe of maintaining welfare states with the situation in places like India and China, where no safety net exists at all, he argued that Europe was losing competitiveness and would stagnate unless social benefits were curtailed en masse.
(Yanis Varoufakis, Adults in the Room, Bodley Head, 2017, p.211/2)
This is terrifying, but it certainly explains Schäuble's actions and policies.