Job well done

On the day after the EU summit, well-meaning comments resound in Berlin, along the lines that the chancellor has done a good job and the package agreed is coherent. Most of the encouragement comes not surprisingly from her conservative, pro-business coalition: to stabilize the euro Merkel had exercised leadership qualities and Berlin's point of view had largely prevailed.

Mixed in with that praise is a sense of relief. Remember the past months? At home and abroad in Europe, Merkel was accused of hesitating and dithering. Not only skeptics had prophesied that little could be expected from the second debt crisis summit in Brussels.

Now, there are quite a few people rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Overnight, decisions were made on measures that in previous weeks and months had been contentious and regarded as unenforceable.

Half of Greece's debts are to be written off and the private sector, meaning the banks and insurance companies, must participate in this debt cancellation. If they do not manage it, national state assistance must be provided before Europe steps in with its bailout fund. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) will not, however, be given a banking license as the French had fought for. Assistance for indebted nations shall only be provided in future under strict conditions; time limits are to be negotiated for state austerity schemes and reforms involving, for example, Italy. European treaties are to be changed, preferably quickly.

Was Germany the decision-maker?

But was all this the work of the German chancellor? Romano Prodi, the former president of the European Commission, is said to have once said that "the lady makes the decisions and the French president then gives a press conference to pronounce those decisions." Sure, Germany is the strongest economy in Europe and Germany bears the brunt of the financial burden in this debt crisis. But that alone cannot be the reason for the results of the long night in Brussels.

In Berlin, the outcome is being put down to luck, pure and simple. On October 19, French President Nicholas Sarkozy made a surprise trip to Frankfurt to join talks. That was followed by a series of small-scale meetings, which had not even been planned, but were efficient and fruitful. So, at the subsequent summit on Wednesday night, the various strands could be woven together, leading to a this deal.

One of these small-scale meetings was the so-called "Frankfurt round." The official farewell for European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet, led to the first-ever joint encounter of Chancellor Merkel, the French President, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso and, of course, Trichet.

Sarkozy had intended to make a sudden appearance, while his wife was in Paris giving birth, to emotionally outmaneuver Merkel. But, the chancellor was neither amused nor fazed.

Sarkozy should have known that. When Merkel has made up her mind, she can hardly be swayed. Some describe her manner as stoical. On the outside she appears quiet, under control, and inconspicuous, with an icy smile. She is undeterred and always perseveres, she has nerves of steel.

Not many people can honestly say they can cope with just four or five hours of sleep per night or even do without it altogether if push comes to shove. That ability must have helped Merkel clinch success through the night from Wednesday into Thursday. During the tough negotiations with the banks, she and Sarkozy intervened personally along with the heads of the EU institutions.

"We only made one single offer," Merkel said later. "That was our last word."

It might sound as though Merkel simply couldn't be bothered to carry on negotiating. The chancellor would probably say otherwise. The trained physicist once said that trends must have time to mature before one can make a decision. That's the scientist in her. Running serial experiments requires a lot of patience, analytical skills and the feeling for the moment when it is time to finish the tests. In Brussels, her experiment has definitely worked.

Author: Sabine Kinkartz / ipj
Editor: Nicole Goebel