Francois Hollande vs. Angela Merkel: A looming war over austerity?

France's president-elect rides into power on a wave of opposition to Europe's harsh austerity agenda. He's about to crash into Germany's no-nonsense chancellor

French President-elect Francois Hollande campaigned on a promise of rolling back Europe's harsh austerity measures, though German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unlikely to let him do so.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/Fabrizio Bensch)

Francois Hollande will not be inaugurated as France's president until May 15, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel is already pouring cold water on the signature promise of his campaign. Proclaiming that "Germany doesn't decide for all of Europe," Hollande had vowed to renegotiate a German-backed fiscal pact designed to shrink the budget deficits of European Union members by employing harsh austerity measures — spending cuts and tax hikes — that are now taking a heavy toll on voters and slowing economic growth. Merkel says she "will welcome Francois Hollande with open arms," but resolutely put her foot down when it came to the pact, saying it was not up for negotiation. It's inconceivable that the continent can survive its financial crisis without Franco-German cooperation. After all, the two economies are the continent's biggest. Can Hollande and Merkel work together?

France and Germany are veering apart: Hollande won the French presidency by "positioning himself explicitly in opposition to German leadership, and channeling the rising French frustration with German policies," says Max Fisher at The Atlantic. Germany's economy has fared better than France's during the crisis, and Hollande's election proves that the two countries, at least policywise, are heading in opposite directions. The "old hand-holding days could return" if the EU economy miraculously recovers, "but that doesn't look likely to happen."

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