the powers that be in Spain got fed up with Merkel and the DB and attacked full force unilaterally publishing the stress tests of german banks...

Was that really focused on German banks, or on Spanish banks?

The powers that be in Spain threatened to unilaterally publish the results of the stress tests of Spanish banks. This put German banks in the awkward position of publicly warning that would be a bad idea, and Merkel went to the European Council to try to prevent an agreement to publish the tests for all (30 or so major) banks. She must have found herself totally isolated arguing against transparency.

Basically, Germany overplayed its hand when Frankfurter Allgemeine last Friday gave credence to the rumour that Spain would have to ask for a bailout possibly even before yesterday's bond auction. The Spanish Central Bank called FAZ's bluff, and Merkel folded today.

The Spanish government's bond auction yesterday was successful, too.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan