Just been sent a translation of an interview given on German TV by the Frau Bundeskanzlerin, aka Angela Merkel:
“The Chancellor sees no alternative to the euro and calls again, on Gunther Jauch”s show, for a commitment to the stabilisation of Greece.
Regarding the debt-crisis, Merkel very clearly demanded a strengthening of the stabilisation-responsibilities. For this purpose, she said, “there must be a mechanism, for the future, giving the right to intervene and coerce.”
“We must work,” she went on,”for treaty-changes, whereby we can at least arraign member-states before the ECJ – such member-states must be prepared to give up a portion of their sovereignty – any country, which fails to abide by the Stability-Criteria, must be forced to do so.”
As David McWilliams noted in August, what happens if the Germans say enough? Well, they wake up a morality crisis that may not end well for any of us…
Bringing in those coercive powers would more gruelling referenda campaigns in the periphery states which could prematurely trigger their own crises… Lots of fun for Ireland’s prospective Eurosceptic President, Martin McGuinness?
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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