Europe's biggest economy pays the largest amount in eurozone bailouts, but it's become the symbol of harsh loan requirements. Its bad image highlights the need for further integration of the eurozone.
Since the beginning of the eurozone crisis, the picture has been the same in many countries: angry protesters carrying banners with a picture of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a Hitler moustache or a swastika. Opponents of austerity measures use Nazi comparisons to get their message across - be it in Greece, Italy or Cyprus.
Germany therefore takes most of the blame for what can be called the 'northern narrative' of the crisis. Leading German tabloids and politicians added fuel to the fire by openly calling for a Greek default before the country received financial aid from its European partners.
But Germany's problem highlights a more general problem for the eurozone. The country is holding general elections in September this year. With 17 countries in the eurozone, there's almost always an election campaign going on somewhere. And the national narrative about causes and possible solutions of the eurozone crisis is still largely determined by domestic political interests in every country.
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