Germany’s power is a threat to the Eurozone
Under rigid euro rules, how long before Greece, Ireland or Portugal say enough is enough?
…But Germany is, itself, deeply divided on the euro. The government has always supported it, industry does well out of it, and German banks are the biggest creditors of troubled nations like Greece and Ireland. German public opinion, though, has never liked the single currency, and is strongly against helping weaker members who get into trouble.
The result is political stalemate in Germany, and financial paralysis across the Eurozone. Delinquent countries are solemnly lectured on their lack of prudence and ordered to accept ever greater austerity. Yet at the same time they are forced to take on still more debt, and at ruinous interest rates to boot. Everyone knows this is unsustainable, but no one can see the way out.