Merkel's Authority Is on the Wane

Spiegel
September 19, 2011

Chancellor Angela Merkel's authority is being undermined by leading members of her coalition partners, the FDP and CSU parties, who have openly challenged her policy on the euro. There is growing speculation that her coalition may collapse, prompting a return of the right-left grand coalition of conservatives and SPD.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel dislikes putting her foot down to solve government disputes. She associates that form of exercising authority with ill-tempered men who use arrogance to make up for their lack of competence. And she thinks people who keep banging their fist on the table end up getting ignored in the long run.

But she can't keep quiet about everything that bothers her, which is why the chancellor resorted to a tentative rebuke last week. She didn't address Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler directly, and yet she made it clear that she was indeed talking about him. She didn't say that he should stop playing with fire in connection with the euro crisis, but she suggested it. Rösler objected, and Merkel's cautious strategy fizzled out.

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