Saturday, August 8, 2015

Strict order: Post-post-nationalist Germany


economist.com

Europe fears German nationalism. Germany says it is simply enforcing the rules

image from article
Extract:

America, as a superpower, may be used to foreign scrutiny. But the rise of “Berlinology” frightens Germans. They have no appetite for becoming Europe’s “leader” (the German word is Führer). Given their past, Germans do not want to seem domineering.

Yet they often do. The anxiety stems from a summit on July 13th, when Germany led euro-zone countries in forcing Greece to accept tougher reforms and more austerity in exchange for a third bail-out—even though Greeks had just rejected them in a referendum. Wolfgang Schäuble, the finance minister, suggested a “temporary” Greek exit from the euro. Both he and Angela Merkel, the chancellor, ruled out a haircut of Greek debt, claiming it would violate euro-zone rules. Germany was thus seen to use the power of its purse to force its vision on weaker members.

The reaction was swift. Op-eds decried German bullheadedness. On social media, the hashtags #ThisIsACoup and #BoycottGermany began trending, while others revived accusations of a “Fourth Reich”. It was a “public diplomacy disaster,” thinks Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), a Berlin think-tank. “Germany is seen as the harsh, heartless hegemon of the euro zone, ready to bully small countries into submission.”

Mr Benner’s worries may be overblown: not all foreigners fear German strength. ...

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