Joschka Fischer on Merkel's fear of Europe

Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer writes about the insecurity and irresoluteness of German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding EU policy in the weekly business paper Figyelő: "Merkel still hasn't figured out how to explain the consequences of the financial and euro crises to the German people. That is not only because she is a poor public speaker, but also because she herself does not seem to know how to resolve the contradictions between national solutions and European constraints. ... While Merkel may appear to be in charge of things in the EU these days, in reality she is no longer driving events, but rather being driven by them. ... Berlin is consumed not with the question of what Europe might need in this historical situation, and what Germany's role should be, but with fear - of the conservative and tabloid press, of further losses in state elections, and of the possibility that the German constitutional court will intervene and overturn the existing programs to contain the euro crisis. ... Merkel now feels the fatal consequences of her 'leadership without leading' approach. One cannot shake the impression that the European soul of this government is devoured by angst."

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