Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with France’s President Francois Hollande (R) at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels March 15, 2013. REUTERS/Laurent DubruleTaxicab2
Occasionally a public opinion survey surfaces that signals a seismic event. That is the case with a new report from the Pew Research Center that measures the widening tremors of a political earthquake now shaking Europe.
Although the report leads with evidence that Europeans are increasingly losing faith in the European Union (which I wrote about here), the more troubling problem is the fast-growing divide between France and Germany. This schism is ripping apart the bonds that have held Europe together for 60 years – just when they are most urgently needed.
There is a second, powerful underlying message: Germany has more economic weight and political will to determine Europe’s future than it has had since World War Two. Now, though, it lacks a partner that can replace France’s pivotal importance. Beyond that, Germans are increasingly out of step with most other Europeans in their economic optimism, their faith in their national political leadership and their continued support for European institutions.
Some 75 percent of Germans consider their economic situation good or very good, despite Germany’s recent economic slowdown. At the same time, more than two-thirds of those surveyed in seven other countries – Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland and the Czech Republic – are dissatisfied with their economies.