Angela Merkel could be forgiven if she had taken to her bunker on Monday. It was, after all, the 67th anniversary of the German surrender to end the Second World War in Europe.
There is little prospect of the German chancellor putting her hands up and losing the economic war she has been waging with her eurozone partners for two years now.Continue reading.
Austerity Rules OK might be the graffiti shorthand for the debt and public spending reduction programmes that have formed the core of the Merkel approach to keep the eurozone intact and the markets on side.
The message that came through strongly from France and Greece at the weekend was that austerity does not rule OK.
Mrs Merkel was effectively told to "get lost" by one of the new political leaders in Greece – Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras – who's plea was to end the "bail-out barbarism".
Mrs Merkel or the markets are more likely to tell Greece to "get lost".
"A Greek eurozone exit is on the cards although the probability and timing of such an event is uncertain," said Tristan Cooper, sovereign debt analyst at Fidelity Worldwide Investment.
The election results were hardly a surprise for either the markets or European leaders.
RELATED: At Der Spiegel, "Savings vs. Stimulus: Pragmatism Likely in Merkel-Hollande Relationship."
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