by Migeru
Thu Jul 5th, 2012 at 04:50:49 AM EST
A funny thing happened on the way to the PIIGS slaughterhouse.
From the Irish Times: Merkel and Monti show unity at summit (July 5, 2012)
IF THERE was a keynote word to yesterday’s Italo-German summit in Rome between German chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian prime minister Mario Monti, it was perhaps “togetherness”. Germany, Italy and all the EU partners, we’re all in this together for better or for worse.
Never mind that the press narrative a week ago was that Merkel had suffered a political defeat at the hands of Monti.
When one Italian reporter suggested to the chancellor that many EU citizens see her as something of a big black witch wielding a big austerity stick, Dr Merkel became more than a little animated.
“Look, if our European neighbours are not doing well, then we Germans cannot be doing well. It is obviously in our interests that all the other (European) countries do well economically, otherwise Germany’s prosperity will be undermined,” she said.
Is she going to start pushing that idea in the German political debate as a way to reverse the damage of her three years of "feckless southern Neighbours" vote-gathering strategy?
One can only hope.
