After more than a century of preparation and effort, including two bruising military conflicts, weathering a financial depression and achieving the almost impossible of reuniting and reigniting, Germany appears to be on track to become the outright winner of the World War series.
As she assumes the role of keystone for the world’s major economies, the Allies who were ranged against her are now knocking at her door asking for assistance or offering gifts – or both. The foreign minister of Poland went public with a passionate plea for Germany to step in and save his country.
Her suitors are not only her former opponents but also past allies like Japan and Italy. And, in a surprising twist, Switzerland’s perennial neutrality — at least in financial matters — has also been breached. The gifts do not come wrapped in goodwill. They are simply efforts by the central banks and governments of the donors to stave off the worst effects of their own short-sighted policies and decisions.
No one will deny that Germany deserves this victory. Time and time again the country has shown its ability to rise phoenix-like from the ashes of apparent total defeat. Half way through the Series Germany’s position looked perilous as she faced financial ruin. In the third quarter she was broken in half. Yet, masterfully, despite setbacks, through rearmament and rebuilding, she revitalized her economy and reenergized her offense. But, as with every successful outcome, she had the benefit of luck and good timing.
The Western Allies and most of their trading partners, who seemed set to coast home to victory in the final moments, are now being overrun by the actions of international bankers and their own greedy but gullible politicians and populations. As a result partly from rash military engagements abroad, the buildup elephantine security structures at home, plus the need to rescue the same selfsame bankers, most are already so heavily into deficit spending they can’t revitalize their “main street” economies. Instead they glibly pretended that nothing is really wrong. Meanwhile Germany continued to protect its people, its manufacturing base and its markets, pushing its annual exports to over €1 trillion, as it waited for the ideal time to grab the prize. That time has now arrived and Germany is ready to collect.
France, once a client state of Germany during the Series, would like to pretend that it is partnering with her in this moment of victory. France’s Presient is bird-dogging the German Chancellor in much the same way as the British Prime Minister trotted after GW Bush prior to the invasion of Iraq. This is wishful thinking, as even a casual review of the circumstances will reveal that France together with most other states in the Euro Zone will soon move to client status. Germany is already controlling those who have already accepted bailouts like Greece and Ireland with little regard for their sovereignty. Italy, one of Europe’s major economies, is now being run by bureaucrats well versed in the Bundesbank’s strict approach to financial affairs. The British PM, not a member of the Euro club and facing a swelling backlash at home against austerity and tighter EU integration, can only watch irrelevantly from the sidelines as another vestige of the UK’s Great Power status moves to Germany.
NATO too has had to rewrite its goals set out by the first NATO secretary-general, Lord “Pug” Ismay, who coined a the mantra according to which the Atlantic bloc should “keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down.”
The EU summit at which Germany will set out the treaty changes needed for Germany to step in and shore up the Euro is scheduled for Dec 9. Chancellor Angela Merkel could be forgiving for wondering if the meeting should be held in the historic railway carriage at Compiegne that hosted the signing of the armistice ending WWI in 1918 and France’s capitulation to Germany in 1940. But that would probably too hasty. Time enough for that when the signatures are being attached to the EU treaty changes she is demanding and the game is finally over.