WHEN Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency last May, many hailed a new Franco-German dawn. Like Angela Merkel, he was a bookish centrist with few tribal allegiances. Like the chancellor, he saw Europe through the lens of the euro-zone crisis. “A little magic dwells in each beginning,” proclaimed Mrs Merkel at their first meeting as leaders in May 2017, quoting Hermann Hesse. The concept of “Merkron” was born.
A year on, the sheen has worn off. Flashes of irritation now mark the relationship between the two leaders, particularly over euro-zone reform. Allies of both Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel let it be known that their bosses are bridling at each other. The former considers the latter plodding and overcautious, the latter regards the former as rash and unreasonable.
At heart are two different understandings of the Merkron project. Mr Macron believes in the need for big-bang reform of the EU, with an overhaul of the currency union at its core, and has set out his agenda in speech...Continue reading
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