As the news of a possible German-French response to the Greek debt crisis unfolds, you know that Greek politicians are going to blame "the Germans" for the inevitable budget cuts, diminished services and contract renegotiations that any bail-out will require, and that Germans will knowlingly nod to each other that Mediterranean countries try to swindle their way past honest bookkeeping. Thus the ancient North-South divide will reinscribe itself yet again. German tourists will examine their restaurant bills even more closely, waiters will mutter a little more loudly about cheap tips.
Angela Merkel's strategy of not saying anything may be taking such recriminations into account, but then again silence can and is being interpreted all sorts of different ways. Is she forcing the Greeks to restructure their public sector economy? Is she avoiding panic on the markets? Is she herself panicked or clueless? In an era with constant news, refusing to speak to the press does not always have to be a disaster? As long as the tide does not turn against you, silence can suggest careful deliberation. Only later once the disappointment sets in, does everyone bemoan you lack of forthrightness. At least for the moment, the stereotypical gestures are in abeyance.
Here's an earnest analysis from the front page of the FAZ:
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