I think this is the wrong way of looking at it. Berlin really cares about hard money, and so does the average German. Neither Berlin nor the average German feel they have (yet again) embarked on a project to subjugate the rest of Europe. Rather, they see themselves as victims, the losers who have been tricked into bailing out the feckless southerners, who really should just behave as Germans and that would make everything alright.

No amount of arguments about mercantilism, current account surpluses or aggregate demand is going to change this - most ordinary people don't know what those things are, and even fewer politicians do.

Sure, Germany did break the Stability pact a decade ago, but who remembers that? Also, that was before the crisis, so hard money sentiment was not rampant. It might have existed under the surface, but no one really cared. Everything seemed to be working so well, after all.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.