Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

by Adam Tooze

For Germany even that was not enough. The lesson that Berlin drew from the Greek crisis was that the eurozone’s Stability and Growth Pact had failed. Germany, or rather the Red-Green coalition that had ruled Germany back in 2003, had to accept a measure of responsibility. Now, with Merkel and Schäuble at the helm, Berlin would take the lead in rededicating the eurozone to self-discipline. This was vital not only to restore economic health. It was essential for the politics of the eurozone. The Greek crisis had shown that Europe’s governments would have to work together. Federalists like Schäuble still insisted that the ultimate answer to the crisis would be “more Europe.” But for that to be acceptable to the taxpayers of Northern Europe, they had to be reassured that everyone was playing by the same rules. As the crisis in the eurozone gathered in intensity and Germany’s pivotal role became ever more pronounced, the rhetoric became more heated. Protesters waved placards showing Merkel’s face graffitied with a Hitler mustache. This was not only offensive and grotesquely unfair. It also represented a fundamental misunderstanding of Germany’s position. When it was accused of imperialism, the German political class could honestly reply that it did not harbor ambitions for continental domination. But Berlin did have a vision of economic and fiscal discipline, which had to be generally accepted before Germany would consent to any further steps toward integration.44 For reasons o...

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