When Angela Merkel rushed back to Berlin for a crucial vote on the euro before the Bundestag's summer recess, the chancellor returned to headlines screaming "An assault on German savers" and "The night that Merkel lost". In Brussels she had made unusual concessions to the European Union's "Club Med" which left Spain delighted, Italy imagining it had won a points victory, and France's new president satisfied with his first substantive EU summit. For those who view this endless euro crisis summitry as a gladiatorial zero sum game, Merkel lost this week. Not a common event in the 30 months of crisis that have thrust ... (full story)