The Press : Cracking the Currency Whip

Germany nudged its interest rates last week, and all of Europe went into spasms. The drop of 0.5 percentage point or less in the Bundesbank’s key rates was at first lauded as a sign of German willingness to bolster the troubled economies of Europe.

But not only was the reduction too puny to do much good, it sent several European currencies--most notably the British pound, Italian lira and Spanish peseta--plummeting.

Bonn has long been pressured to knock down its sky-high rates for the good of the European economy. But the Germans have refused, putting first their own need to battle the dreaded inflation that came with reunification between East and West.

Such stubbornness does not sit well with Germany’s neighbors, many of whom fear a Deutschemark Uber Alles mentality will dominate any future European economic unity.

But it appears those fears might not be enough to foil the so-called Maastricht Treaty, which would among other things forge a common currency for the 12 European Community members. On Sunday, the French grudgingly ratified the pact, but the vote was extremely close and the debate surrounding it devastatingly caustic.

It appears Europe’s money mess is far from over over.

Here’s a look at how the calamity played on the editorial pages of Europe and beyond.