BERLIN:

In the past when the European Union was paralyzed by a crisis, France and Germany would come to the rescue. Their leaders have not always seen eye to eye, but over the decades they have generally found compromises that have kept the European integration project alive.

Now, with the financial crisis showing no signs of bottoming out, the opportunity for Paris and Berlin to promote unity should have been ideal. Instead, they have adopted opposing approaches over how Europe should respond to the global meltdown.

Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to prevent Europe from attempting to spend its way out of the crisis. Her big concern is the explosion of public debt and the ensuing specter of inflation. Ever since the 1920s, when galloping prices wiped out Germany's wealth, inflation has been the bête noire of the German psyche.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, in contrast, has been advocating both protectionist policies and big spending programs, much to the exasperation of Merkel's economic advisers. In order to counter Sarkozy's ideas, Merkel has begun forging alliances with small and medium-sized countries, something which another conservative chancellor, Helmut Kohl, was adept at.