Germany and the Eurozone crisis

Germany has always been a strong power in the European integration, but it has become disproportionately strong in the Eurozone. Germany has become the indispensable country in solving the Eurozone crisis. There is a genuine puzzle in that Germany has the raw power to solve the crisis, and few would question Germany’s ideological commitment to the European project in general. Germany’s vision of what Europe needs is in conformity to the domestic ideology of ordoliberalism. This in effect rules out a vision of reform based on solidarity and shared fiscal resources. Germany has the power and the willingness to lead if only others are willing to follow Germany’s plan based on member states’ responsibility for their own finances and curtailing government expenditures. Little attention is given to imbalances in capital flows and trade in which Germany herself played a big part. In short, Germany has failed to provide a shared vision, one that others want to follow, in favor of mobilizing a creditor coalition (Germany, Netherlands, Austria, and Finland) which enforces an austerity regime on debtors in Europe’s periphery. Germany is more dominant than hegemonic.