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Germany’s obstinate chancellor

固执的德国总理

Angela Merkel, swimming instructor

“游泳教练”安吉拉•默克尔

When it comes to the euro, the German chancellorprefers self-help to help—but she can be more flexible than she seems

德国总理在欧元问题上嘉勉自救胜过人救，不过她这个表面上的立场仍可通融。

When warnings sound that the end of the euro is nigh, all eyes turn to Angela Merkel, theGerman chancellor. Germany must “assume its part” in saving the currency, says Spain’seconomy minister, Luis de Guindos. If there is rescuing to be done, Germany is the obvious rescuer. Yet rather than toss out the lifebelt, Mrs Merkel offers swimming lessons.

欧元瓦解的警报就将拉响，所有人的目光都聚焦在德国总理安吉拉.默克尔的身上。西班牙财政部长金多斯(Luis de Guindos)说，德国必须在拯救欧元的行动中“承担相应的责任”。若真有国家亟待救援，德国显然是拯救者。然而，默克尔女士却选择站在岸边教游泳，而非抛出救生圈。

She would find this characterisation unfair. Time and again she has taken stands against bail-outs only to relent. She balked at bailing out Greece and at a permanent rescue fund, andshe vetoed the use of bail-out money to buy government bonds in the secondary market. Ineach case she gave in (too late,say critics).

默克尔女士也许会认为此般描述有失公正。她一次又一次地反对纾困， 到头来却总是松口让步。她在救助希腊和永久性救援基金上踌躇不决，还否决了利用纾困资金在二级市场上购买国库券。以上事件她都做出了妥协（可惜为时已晚，批评家如是说）。

By July she will push through parliament the European Stability Mechanism(ESM), the permanent fund she once opposed, and Europe’s fiscal compact. Germany’s capital contribution to the ESM will push its budget deficit from