Brendan Simms: Can Angela Merkel forge a United States of
Europe?   Cometh the hour … regardless of anti-German sentiment,
Chancellor Merkel must seize the initiative (Picture: Reuters)
Famously, Chancellor Kohl regarded German unification as a
prelude to a much larger European unification Suggested Topics
In June 1900, the British commander of the international
expeditionary force against the Chinese Boxers, Admiral Seymour,
found himself in a bit of a fix. He exhorted the Kaiser’s
contingent to come to his aid with the immortal words “The
Germans to the front”, words that went around the world. Many
Germans claimed they had rescued the day. On the contrary,
British and French spin doctors replied, the Germans had been
cowering in the rear for so long that Seymour had had to shame
them into doing their duty.  One is reminded of these exchanges
today as Europeans dispute whether Berlin should take the lead
in the eurozone. For every French socialist party motion
condemning Chancellor Angela Merkel for domina