German unease and unease about Germany.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802444,00.html

It is a tone that one rarely hears from Berlin on the eve of a major European Union summit. "We have the impression that some actors still haven't recognized the seriousness of the situation," a senior German government official told journalists in Berlin on Wednesday.

There are many, the official added, "who are very generous and very quick when it comes to finding new sources of financing, but have difficulties when it comes to addressing the deficiencies with the euro's design." In order to stabilize the euro, no "baby steps" will be sufficient. And there can be none of the "typical Brussels trickery" that could result in a compromise deal short of what the public and the markets expect.

Corrections to the EU's treaties are essential, the official said. "We aren't going to make any lazy compromises." Not exactly the kind of diplomacy one might expect from Berlin as Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Brussels.

Arrogant German diplomacy is nothing new as Mr Chamberlain found to his and the nation's cost.

I use the word 'arrogant' in the context of the following article:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802515,00.html

"The Führer has requested our presence," an enraged diplomat from one of Germany's neighbors recently quipped, making a less-than-subtle allusion to its Nazi past. The comment followed attempts by Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, an EU policy adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel, to gain backing for Germany's position.

Without a doubt, it was a low blow. But Germany's government would be well advised to stop dismissing the underlying sentiment as nothing more than childish aggression. Indeed, it hasn't been the only such expression of displeasure. Criticism of Berlin policies can be heard coming from almost all of Europe's capitals.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,801982-2,00.html

And so the specter of the ugly German has raised its head once more. In Greece, swastikas made out of the stars of the European Union flag have long been a popular motif at demonstrations, not to mention pictures of the German chancellor in a kind of SS uniform.

Hatred and loathing of Germany is gaining ground.  Taken with the democratic deficit within the EU it is a recipe for an alarming breakdown in civil society.

This article pull no punches: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802591,00.html
'The Return of the Ugly Germans'.