Germany’s Power Polarizes Europe

wsj.com ^ | Anton Troianovski

[BenLurkin]

[W]ith the “no” vote in Sunday’s Greek referendum on bailout terms posing the biggest challenge yet to decades of European integration, risks to the European project resulting from Germany’s rise as the Continent’s most powerful country are becoming clear.

On Friday, Spanish antiausterity leader Pablo Iglesias urged his countrymen: “We don’t want to be a German colony.” On Sunday, after Greece’s result became clear, Italian populist Beppe Grillo said, “Now Merkel and bankers will have food for thought.” On Monday, Ms. Merkel flew to Paris for crisis talks amid signs the French government was resisting Berlin’s hard line on Greece.

“What is happening now is a defeat for Germany, especially, far more than for any other country,” said Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German Institute for Economic Research, a leading Berlin think tank. “Germany has, at the end of the day, helped determine most of the European decisions of the last five years.”

Senior German officials, in private moments, marvel at the fact that their country, despite its weak military and inward-looking public, now has a greater impact on most European policy debates than Britain or France, and appears to wield more global influence that at any other time since World War II.

Berlin think-tank elites, diplomats and mainstream politicians generally see the rise of German power as a good thing. They describe the stability, patience and rules-based discipline of today’s German governance as what Europe needs in these turbulent times. Germany—with its export-dependent economy and history-stained national identity—has the most to lose from an unraveling of European integration and is focused on keeping the union strong, they say.

...

U.S. officials generally see German leadership as crucial geopolitically, praising Ms. Merkel’s push last year to get all 28 European Union countries to adopt sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

[bert]

did Germany rise.....or did the others fall?

France continued to degenerate. Italy being Italy is at best off the mark. Spain after disaster is improved somewhat. The UK is not involved in the Euro battle and thus is neutral. All the rest at best don’ really matter.

[pepsionice]

The other currency possible....only with massive games by the Russians...would be the Ruble. But I don’t see how you’d convince the greeks to accept the Ruble or how you’d convince European tourists to buy Rubles to pay their bills.

[canuck_conservative]

Once again, Germany is expected to foot the bill, while all the other countries (like France) pretend to be important and talk bout how great the EU is.

Is the EU really sustainable? Germany won’t get sick of this at some point?

[elpadre]

I have often suggested that the EU eventually would result in a completely German controlled Europe, and Germany then, will have accomplished Hitler’s goal - without firing a shot!!

Germany has been the dominant nation since since the inception of the EU and their power has steadily grown.

[kearnyirish2]

They can continue using the Euro to pay foreign vendors/suppliers, but they will be buying them with drachmas - and they won’t get very many for their drachmas.