A test vote in Germany’s Parliament on Wednesday brought bad news for Chancellor Angela Merkel, and perhaps for the whole euro zone.
Members of Merkel’s own party, the Christian Democrats, voted against an enlargement of the European Financial Stability Facility in far larger numbers than expected, spawning worries that Merkel may be unable to push through a sufficient increase in the EFSF to make a difference in the euro zone debt crisis.
Although the Bundestag was expected to pass the beefing up of the EFSF—a measure approved by European leaders in July—rebellious members of Merkel’s own party, tired of public-paid bailouts for peripheral euro zone countries and banks, could force her to rely on the opposition, Reuters reported.
That would be politically damaging for Merkel and could threaten her ability to push through additional rescue measures in the future. Support among German citizens for expensive bailouts funded with taxpayer money is low and shrinking.