The late British Empire irks the continent

A Europe under the rule of the Iron Lady Merkel and her people, authors of an “economic miracle”? The thesis repeated by British newspapers is exasperating the German press. To the editorialists across the Channel who defend excluding Germany from the eurozone on the pretext that Berlin “has destabilised the euro with its low wages, ruthless productivity and well-known Panzer mentality,” Spiegel-Online responds with a scathing “Your Empire and us.”

"As usual, the talk is in terms of victory and defeat, and bills in history that remain unpaid,” laments columnist Matthias Matussek:

To be able to bring up the war is a perpetual delight. I see them laughing; I can laugh too. They’re calculating a German contribution to Europe roughly equivalent to the reparations demanded by the Treaty of Versailles. How interesting – and how useful! [...] Asking the administrators of the legacy of the Empire for their views on the German malaise is like giving your sick but favourite sheep to the butcher to look over…. Anyone who listens to (the British) muse philosophically on the historical debts of Germany, on Europe and the world, will find it hard to believe there was a financial crash in the British Isles.

In Paris, Le Monde notes the “gulf” that separates German and British views on Europe’s future. On the one hand, the Chancellor is calling for further European integration; on the other, Prime Minister David Cameron believes that the crisis should be an opportunity for Britain to "reshape" its relationship to the EU. “That is to say: ‘repatriate powers' to London, rather than see them 'drift' to Brussels.”

While the Franco-German duo may be imperfect and wobbly, however, it remains key to finding a solution to the crisis:

The Germans, who are loathe to be left alone in the cockpit, are the first to say it. If Germany had to rely on its British cousins, after all, Germany might as well throw up its hands right now…. London has chosen not to join the eurozone, yet demands a say in its decisions.

In the current climate, the eternal British ambivalence undermines Europe by the day,” adds Le Monde. Summing up its thoughts on the subject, the paper concludes:

On Europe, London has to choose – or keep quiet.