Angela Merkel warned that Germany could abandon the euro

[Hopeless Romantic]

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has warned for the first time that her country could abandon the euro if she fails in her contested campaign to establish a new regime for the single currency, the Guardian has learned.

At an EU summit in Brussels at the end of October that was dominated by the euro crisis and wrangling over whether to bail out Ireland, Merkel became embroiled in a row with the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, according to participants at the event's Thursday dinner.

Merkel's central aim, which she achieved, was to win agreement on re-opening the Lisbon treaty so a permanent system of bailout funding and investor losses could be established to deal with debt crises that have laid Greece and Ireland low and are threatening Portugal and Spain. The Germans also called for bailed-out countries to lose voting rights in EU councils.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/03/angela-merkel-germany-abandon-euro

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. I doubt it

I think it's more of an empty threat, and it's more to do with the unwillingness of Germany to give more bail-out capital.

The Euro has been hugely beneficial to Germany and has helped sustain an export boom for their economy. If the Euro had not existed then the Mark would have risen significantly due to a balance of payments surplus and thus curtailed the export boom short.

[fedsron2us]

2. All true but historically the Germans lived with a strong Mark

for decades prior to the Euro.

The bailout bill for Europe's banks and economies is also likely to be enormous.

Indeed, it is likely more than Germany alone can. afford