According to Klaus Regling, “hysteria is sweeping Germany,” as the pressure of the EU’s debt crisis spreads throughout the country’s primary institutions.
The most recent threat comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel runs out of coalition votes in the Bundestag, putting the reliable backing for Europe’s restored rescue machinery at risk and increasing the constitutional crisis in Germany.
Merkel has cancelled her trip to Russia, planned for the very day on which the package goes to the Bundestag, and Germany’s constitutional court passes its verdict regarding the legality of the EU’s 440 billion euro bail-out machinery. If the court rules that the EFSF does not follow Treaty law, the consequences will be felt immediately.
Recent media has revealed that 23 of Merkel’s own coalition intend to vote against the package, 12 of whom are members of Bavaria’s Social Christians (CSU). Circumstance may force Merkel to rely on opposition votes, which can result in a government collapse.
Germany’s president Christian Wulff has accused the European Central Bank of going “far beyond its mandate” in its purchase of both Spanish and Italian debt. He warned that Europe’s movement towards fiscal union strikes at the “very core” of democracy.
“Decisions have to be made in parliament in a liberal democracy. That is where legitimacy lies,” Wullf said.
