THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BERLIN—Europe's ever-louder promises of help for Greece may have calmed financial markets for now, but they pose a problem for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who faces growing criticism at home as her resistance to a Greek bailout softens.
Ms. Merkel's center-right coalition will be tested in crucial regional elections on May 9 that could wipe out its thin majority in Germany's upper house of parliament, making it harder for the government to pass its major economic policies into law.
Loaning taxpayer money to Greece at a time when German authorities are strapped for cash to maintain schools and roads at home could potentially add to broader voter dissatisfaction with the performance of the ruling coalition, political analysts say.
So far the election campaign in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, has centered on domestic issues including jobs, education and the appeal and flaws of local candidates. Opinion pollsters say Greece isn't playing a major role. But the center-right, which is lagging in polls, can't afford extra controversy, analysts say.
"If Greece is bailed out shortly before the election, it could lead to an awkward debate for Merkel, with voters questioning why there's money for Greece but not for them," says Gero Neugebauer, a political scientist at Berlin's Free University.
Ms. Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats and their junior coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats, who hold a governing majority in North Rhine-Westphalia, are lagging in opinion polls, which show them with about 45% of the vote. >>> Markus Walker | Wednesday, April 14, 2010
