Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Merkel's last chance, to save the hard euro

The German negotiating position is weak because both [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [German Finance Minister Wolfgang] Schäuble categorically reject every alternative to the unconditional defence of the common currency, and even brand those thinking about it as traitors of the European idea.

The Chancellor must use her chance to make it clear to her European friends that she is not ready to ask the Germans – for whom orderly state finances are an invaluable quality – to make way for a 'soft-currency union'. If the EU partners do not accept this last warning signal, then they are the ones who are not showing solidarity. The question for alternatives will then be inevitable.