Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Europe Shudders at Germany's New-Found Power

After the war, the French and the British sought to bind Germany into a united Europe to prevent it from ever becoming the dominant force in Europe again. But now its economic strength has made it the region's natural leader for the first time since 1945, although neither the Germans nor the continent's other citizens seem comfortable with this state of affairs yet.

As a result, Germany's dominance in Europe has brought forth a paradox. As admiration for its economic successes has grown, so too has increasing criticism of the way it is handling its role as the leading force. Not only does it appear to have done everything right on its own. It is also the country that -- still -- refuses to consider saving the 17-member eurozone by printing money or issuing eurobonds. It is also forcing others to adopt its cost-cutting recipes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There is a large amount of data available( from fairly reliable sources on the internet)that deliberate propaganda was used to malign Germany before, during and after the WW II. Would some rethink be in order on the type of words we use to describe Germany?