The horror, Angela, the horror

The Greek and Eurozone crisis is spinning dangerously out of control, and The Economist reflects the mood with a cover inspired by Francis Ford Coppola’s brooding Vietnam film Apocalypse Now. “It will strike some as mystifying that a small, peripheral economy should suddenly threaten the world’s biggest economic area,” the business weekly writes, before squarely putting the blame on Germany, which has dragged its feet over a rescue plan. “All along, it has tried to have it every way—to back Greece, but to punish it for its mistakes; to support the Greek economy, but not to spend any money doing so; to treat this as just a Greek problem, when German banks and German citizens, who lend to Greece, stand to lose money too.” Instead of explaining to her electorate why help for Greece is in its national interest, “Angela Merkel, has run scared of upsetting them before a big regional election on May 9th.” To avoid the risk of this “contagion” affecting the entire continent “Europe will not stem this crisis unless its decision-making apparatus is overhauled and Germany radically changes its tune.”

As is traditional in major international elections, The Economist pronounces on its favoured candidate. As Britain goes to the poll on 6 May, the weekly concedes that although the Conservatives “plainly have faults” and “have run a lacklustre campaign”, David Cameron will get its vote.