As European leaders hurtle toward another make-or-break summit on the debt crisis Jan. 30, Germany’s economic leadership will again be put to the test. At the last summit in December, Berlin was unable to persuade London to back a plan to more tightly bind the economic policies of all 27 members of the European Union.
British Prime Minister David Cameron bristled at ceding any more sovereignty to the continent. But I suspect that his real fears are with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s support for monetary discipline. Despite his austerity budget at home, Mr. Cameron nevertheless follows the Anglo-American preference for monetary easing as an economic panacea in tough times.
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