Financial Times
October 27, 2011
For weeks, if not months, Angela Merkel has been warning everyone not to expect a one-off, big bang solution to the eurozone crisis. That is not the way the German chancellor thinks, nor the way she does business.
When eurozone outsiders, such as David Cameron, UK prime minister, recently called for a “big bazooka” to end the crisis, it did not go down well in Berlin. Quite apart from the British insistence that they would not contribute any cash, it raised unhelpful expectations in the financial markets – and fear among Ms Merkel’s cautious German voters.
The German chancellor has insisted repeatedly that the crisis was caused by excessive government debts built up over decades, and could only be solved by a long, slow process of reimposing budget discipline. It also meant putting in place strict rules for future behaviour, to prevent eurozone countries borrowing their way to near-bankruptcy again.
A methodical physicist by training, the way Ms Merkel works is “step-by-step” and not through high profile declarations. She hates constant summit meetings. That is why the chemistry is difficult between her and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, who is much more inclined to grandstand. But as the two core powers in the European Union, Germany and France are condemned to co-operate.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment