Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

media sources mentioned above, a series of trends have
emerged. The Eurocrisis has been at the centre of many
debates and is reflected in the vast number of articles discussing
it. At the beginning of the year the focus was on the
role Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was playing in
the Euro crisis. The real debate surrounded Merkel’s push
for a “Competitiveness Pact” as a solution to the debt crisis.
The pact was sold as a German solution to the European
problem, based on the German Constitution. This was received
favourably in Germany but within the EU it was
quickly rejected, as there was a fear that it would bind the
Eurozone states together and isolate them from the non-
Eurozone members, essentially creating a further division
within the EU.
Before the summit in March 2011 it was already
apparent that Merkel’s Pact was not appropriate for the EU
and was reduced to a regulatory framework for the final
agreement. This was not well received by the German public.
In the various articles on the Eurozone crisis it was expressed
that the real decision-making was occurring in
Berlin and not in Brussels. The reduction of Merkel’s Pact
to a framework therefore caused discontent among the
German public and this was clearly reflected in the style
and slant of many articles.
While the relationship between Germany and the
EU did not change per se, the relationship of the German
people and their government did. Germany is the main guarantor
for the new crisis fund of the EU and therefore will
play a crucial role in the shaping of EU policy. Some of the
articles hinted that Merkel was preaching that Germany
would not take the burden of the crisis fund, but behind
closed doors she had realized that her Pact would fail and
needed to quickly renegotiate the rescue package. This
demonstrated the miscommunication between the German
state and the German people, regarding the Euro crisis.
As the debt crisis progressed it was said that Chancellor
Merkel, who at the beginning of the crisis took a hard
line, was now stalling and making the situation worse. 59 It
was clear though that the process of settling the EFSF required
a great amount of time and planning. The Germans
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