"It will not be possible to solve the current crisis with euro bonds"
About this Quote
Merkel's "It will not be possible to solve the current crisis with euro bonds" is austerity as a sentence: calm, declarative, and designed to close a door without sounding like it. In the eurozone crisis, "euro bonds" weren't just a financing tool; they were shorthand for mutualizing risk, asking German taxpayers to underwrite the debts of weaker member states. Merkel's wording makes that proposal feel not merely undesirable but structurally irrelevant, as if physics, not politics, forbids it.
The specific intent is tactical restraint. She signals to domestic voters and the Bundestag that Germany won't sign a blank check, while also telling markets that Berlin will impose conditions before offering solidarity. "Not be possible" shifts responsibility away from her government and onto an implied reality principle: you can't paper over a currency union's design flaws with a new instrument of shared liability.
The subtext is moral as much as fiscal. Merkel's crisis narrative leaned on Ordnungspolitik: rules, discipline, credibility. Euro bonds, in that frame, reward profligacy and dilute incentives for reform. By rejecting the quick collective fix, she pushes debtor states toward structural adjustments and pushes the EU toward tighter fiscal governance.
Context sharpens the edge. Europe was trying to save the euro without building a full political union. Merkel's line functions as a boundary marker in that unfinished project: integration, yes, but only on terms that preserve national accountability. It's the rhetoric of a reluctant hegemon, speaking softly while setting the price of rescue.
The specific intent is tactical restraint. She signals to domestic voters and the Bundestag that Germany won't sign a blank check, while also telling markets that Berlin will impose conditions before offering solidarity. "Not be possible" shifts responsibility away from her government and onto an implied reality principle: you can't paper over a currency union's design flaws with a new instrument of shared liability.
The subtext is moral as much as fiscal. Merkel's crisis narrative leaned on Ordnungspolitik: rules, discipline, credibility. Euro bonds, in that frame, reward profligacy and dilute incentives for reform. By rejecting the quick collective fix, she pushes debtor states toward structural adjustments and pushes the EU toward tighter fiscal governance.
Context sharpens the edge. Europe was trying to save the euro without building a full political union. Merkel's line functions as a boundary marker in that unfinished project: integration, yes, but only on terms that preserve national accountability. It's the rhetoric of a reluctant hegemon, speaking softly while setting the price of rescue.
Quote Details
| Topic | Money |
|---|
More Quotes by Angela
Add to List
