Financial Crisis 'Why should Germany be the guardians of the rest of Europe?'

However, outside the walls of the emblematic Reichstag building on Thursday morning few were optimistic that the right decision had been made. “It’s a grave mistake and it is certainly not in the interests of the people,” insisted Michael Nickel, a 32-year-old civil servant. On an unseasonably warm September day and as the sun glinted off the vast glass dome topping the edifice that once was the seat of Hitler’s Third Reich, he shielded his eyes from the glare. “It’s quiet here now but if this continues, and it will, then the people will rise up. We have had enough of giving, giving, giving, and with the knowledge that we will never see any of that money again.” Like many Germans he is furious that the taxpayer is being asked to contribute yet more of their hard-earned money to bail out the weaker nations.