The odd couple

Tete-a-tetes between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy have become such regular fixtures in Europe's political calendar - the two leaders get together prior to nearly every EU summit - that they've earned the joint nickname "Merkozy"

At a press conference following their bilateral talks in Berlin this month, Merkel admitted that she and Sarkozy had been "working particularly closely since the Eurozone crisis began," and that she expected that to continue.

Sarkozy put the Franco-German relationship into grander terms.

"I came to Berlin because I value the relationship between France and Germany so much. It's really the cornerstone of Europe. It's an alliance, a convergence, an understanding between Europe's first and second economies."

Substantial difference in style

The two statements tell a tale of their own. While Merkel is low-key and matter-of-fact, Sarkozy is sweeping and keen to remind the press that his country is, if not the top dog, a strong number two.

Keen observers of the European political scene say this dynamic plays itself out again and again in the two leaders' dealings with each other.

"They really are chalk and cheese," says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London. "She is sober, dull, pragmatic, serious, uninspired, un-visionary. He is impatient, mercurial, full of energy, visionary on a good day - but maddeningly annoying to deal with!"

This may have something to do with their vastly different backgrounds. She's a chemist who grew up a pastor's daughter in the small Eastern town of Templin in the former German Democratic Republic. He grew up in a wealthy part of Paris estranged from his Hungarian aristocrat father, eventually studying to become an attorney.

"She is a cautious person with low levels of trust, a small appetite for going out and exercising visible charisma. It's just not her cup of tea," says Jan Techa, the Brussels director of the Carnegie Institute.

"He's from the other end of the spectrum. He's impulsive, very extroverted, and his attention span is much lower"

Though it sounds like a match made in hell, Sarkozy and Merkel have made it work, says CER's Grant.

"They really can't stand each other but have worked a modus Vivendi between them. They both understand that Europe cannot cope without strong cooperation between France and Germany."

Who's the boss?

But what was once a partnership of equals is changing. Not so long ago Germany was known as a "sick man of Europe," its economy stifled by red tape and an over-bearing state. But the tables have turned. Germany is now the continent's economic heavyweight, with solid exports, stronger banks and low public debt. Meanwhile France has yet to push through labor market reforms and is scrambling to reduce its debt to save its bond rating - which has already been downgraded from top AAA status to AA+.

All that puts Merkel in the driver's seat, but it also calls for some sensitivity, says the Carnegie Institute's Techau.

"She is just in a more powerful position, because of the size of the German economy and the relative health of it, and so Sarkozy has had to compromise more than he would have liked. But here's where she's really masterful: she never lets him feel her dominance."

All those bilateral summits and joint press conferences? Face-saving maneuvers for Sarkozy and France, and a way for Merkel and Germany to come across as slightly less bossy.

"When you have a Franco-German summit it appears that they are equal, that they both decide things and then persuade the others to follow. But if you look at the details of the policies that Merkel and Sarkozy are coming up with, on almost every single occasion it's the German wishes that predominate." says CER's Grant.

"For example, should there be a new EU treaty? The Germans wanted one – nobody else wanted one, the French didn't want one - but the Germans got their way, there will be a new EU treaty."

The deliberations over the European Central Bank's policy on buying bonds from problem countries like Spain and Italy went much the same.

"Germans say no, French say yes. German view wins."

Looking forward

But 'Merkozy,' as the two leaders have been dubbed by Europe's press, still lack an over-arching strategy. She wants more austerity, he wants more spending, and while the German view prevails that may not be for the best. Other countries, not just France, are worried because they think Germany's economic doctrine may not point the way out of the crisis.

"The Germans have an obsession with fiscal austerity, with limiting budget deficits, setting up new rules to constrain government spending. But that's not solving the problem," says Grant. "It's probably making the problem worse, because the countries of southern Europe which have these difficulties and are cutting their budgets cannot actually grow."

There are plenty of storm clouds on the horizon for the eurozone. Greece may prove unable to overcome its debt, as Spain and Italy are also struggling to turn their finances around. Germany and France will continue to lead the crisis management and policies will bear a heavy German accent.

When Merkel suggested that a string of European countries could stand for a dose of Teutonic discipline in their fiscal policies at a recent press conference with her French counterpart, Sarkozy signaled his agreement as emphatically as he could.

"Genau!" he said. That's German for "exactly."

Author: Vanessa Mock / mrh
Editor: Gabriel Borrud