From Merkozy to merde

Yesterday was not a good day for Angela Merkel. Greece, France and the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein all went to the polls – and Merkel’s team took a drubbing in each.

Aside from the fact that Merkel’s grand plan to nurse the euro back to health through a strict regiment of austerity and fiscal discipline seems to be in tatters, her own voters have thrown a banana skin. Merkel’s CDU appears to have lost power in Schleswig-Holstein – the SPD, Greens and a local Danish minority party are on course to form a state government.

But that’s not Merkel’s biggest problem. Her coalition partner FDP beat most expectations and remained in the state parliament, and they hope this will reenergise the party nationally and in government. In order to do that, however, they’re going to have to make a free-market liberal mark on policy.

A bellicose FDP would leave Merkel trapped between her European partners demanding less austerity and her newly reinvigorated coalition partners demanding more. The Queen of Compromise has already misstepped by openly campaigning against France’s Hollande – how she can negotiate a new euro deal that satisfies everyone is yet to be seen.

She hoped for more Merkozy – she might end up with a pile of merde.