Merkel Tells Her Party Europe Can’t Afford to Let the Euro Fail
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the euro is the glue that holds Europe together, signaling that an Irish bailout may be the price of preserving European unity.
Merkel is “trying to send a clear message that Germany is pro-European, that they are ready to help out Ireland, Portugal and other countries if necessary and they will not put the euro at risk,” Henrik Enderlein, a political economist at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, said by phone. She “wants the Irish to take the bailout now to make it clear to everyone that the situation is safe, that markets should calm down.”