Download"An Iron Chancellor for Europe "
Carme Colomina,
Research Fellow CIDOB
Deniz Devrim,
Research Fellow CIDOB
May 10, 2010 / Opinión CIDOB núm. 69
In recent weeks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to have turned
into Europe’s new iron lady, allegedly fulfilling the prediction of her
British predecessor Margaret Thatcher who believed that once reunified,
Germany would loose its interest in the EU. Since reunification, German
politicians consistently proved that this fear was misplaced;
however, the current Chancellor’s delayed reaction to the Greek crisis,
the failure to make an early commitment and her stubbornness to bring
the IMF into the rescue caused Europe-wide uproar and granted debt
speculators extra time. On the other hand, some would argue that
Germany’s tough position has forced the Greeks to seriously commit
themselves to painful and unpopular but necessary internal reforms,
credible fiscal and financial control, and transparency. (...)
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