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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cyprus crisis: Germans tire of paying bill for eurozone's financial failures | Cyprus crisis: Germans tire of paying bill for eurozone's financial failures |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| "It always comes down to the Germans!" clamoured the tabloid Bild this week in a headline that summed up the frustrations of much of the country as, yet again, Berlin was confronted with accusations that it had let down a fellow eurozone member – this time tiny Cyprus. | "It always comes down to the Germans!" clamoured the tabloid Bild this week in a headline that summed up the frustrations of much of the country as, yet again, Berlin was confronted with accusations that it had let down a fellow eurozone member – this time tiny Cyprus. |
| Germans readily accept that they have a weightier responsibility towards the rest of Europe than any other EU member, but there is a growing sense of resentment that they are increasingly taking the blame for other EU members' woes. | Germans readily accept that they have a weightier responsibility towards the rest of Europe than any other EU member, but there is a growing sense of resentment that they are increasingly taking the blame for other EU members' woes. |
| "There would be no rescue package without German guarantees, but it's precisely us Germans who are confronted with criticism – indeed, bare-faced hatred," said Hugo Müller-Vogg, a leading commentator at Germany's best-selling redtop, arguing that Germans had been made the "scapegoats" of Europe. | "There would be no rescue package without German guarantees, but it's precisely us Germans who are confronted with criticism – indeed, bare-faced hatred," said Hugo Müller-Vogg, a leading commentator at Germany's best-selling redtop, arguing that Germans had been made the "scapegoats" of Europe. |
| Vogg listed the insults that he said Germans had faced in recent days as the crisis over the Cypriot bailout grew, including "the chancellor vilified with a Hitler moustache" on campaign posters in Nicosia and "German flags being ripped down" from the German embassy. "We Germans are guilty for all the misery," he wearily paraphrased. | Vogg listed the insults that he said Germans had faced in recent days as the crisis over the Cypriot bailout grew, including "the chancellor vilified with a Hitler moustache" on campaign posters in Nicosia and "German flags being ripped down" from the German embassy. "We Germans are guilty for all the misery," he wearily paraphrased. |
| Germans know the rest of Europe is well aware of their country's strong, history-driven sense of obligation towards the EU. But there has been a feeling growing for some time in Berlin that others are taking advantage. The consequent sentiment is summed up by Vogg. "If it wasn't for the future of Europe, there would only be one suitable answer: lie in your own muck." | Germans know the rest of Europe is well aware of their country's strong, history-driven sense of obligation towards the EU. But there has been a feeling growing for some time in Berlin that others are taking advantage. The consequent sentiment is summed up by Vogg. "If it wasn't for the future of Europe, there would only be one suitable answer: lie in your own muck." |
| With an election looming for Angela Merkel in less than six months, much is at stake. If she is seen to give precedence to rich Russians and Britons who park monies in Cypriot bank accounts to enjoy the country's higher interest rates and favourable tax conditions, her electorate, which has faced wage and interest-rate freezes as well as rising living costs, may never let her forget it. | With an election looming for Angela Merkel in less than six months, much is at stake. If she is seen to give precedence to rich Russians and Britons who park monies in Cypriot bank accounts to enjoy the country's higher interest rates and favourable tax conditions, her electorate, which has faced wage and interest-rate freezes as well as rising living costs, may never let her forget it. |
| The German lobby group Tax Madness (Steuer Wahnsinn) has expressed its dismay that "Russian oligarchs and mafiosi" could be the ones who benefit most from an EU bailout. "They've parked their laundered money in Cypriot banks … can it be the case that our tax money is used to save their billions?" it asked. | The German lobby group Tax Madness (Steuer Wahnsinn) has expressed its dismay that "Russian oligarchs and mafiosi" could be the ones who benefit most from an EU bailout. "They've parked their laundered money in Cypriot banks … can it be the case that our tax money is used to save their billions?" it asked. |
| While it warned at the same time of the potential "domino effect" should Europe not agree to a Cypriot bailout, others, such as Frank Schäffler, a member of the Free Democratic party (FDP), Merkel's junior coalition partner, warned that if Germany continues to show "solidarity", the rescue efforts will never come to an end. "I refuse to countenance the perverse term 'solidarity in Europe'," Schäffler said in an interview with the business daily Handelsblatt. | While it warned at the same time of the potential "domino effect" should Europe not agree to a Cypriot bailout, others, such as Frank Schäffler, a member of the Free Democratic party (FDP), Merkel's junior coalition partner, warned that if Germany continues to show "solidarity", the rescue efforts will never come to an end. "I refuse to countenance the perverse term 'solidarity in Europe'," Schäffler said in an interview with the business daily Handelsblatt. |
| "If things go on as they are, we'll soon be bailing out Andorra and San Marino because they have such close economic ties with other crisis countries such as Italy and Spain." | "If things go on as they are, we'll soon be bailing out Andorra and San Marino because they have such close economic ties with other crisis countries such as Italy and Spain." |
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