Continental drift adds to challenge

"Domestically, [Ms Merkel] hasn't paid the price for the deepening of the financial crisis," says Simon Tilford, chief economist at CER. "But certainly, she's looking increasingly isolated within the eurozone. ... There was a window of opportunity five to six months ago to forge a consensual relationship with Mario Monti... But Merkel didn't play that so well. ... At what point do they say enough? ... Unless the German position on a number of points shifts considerably, it's inevitable that Spain and Italy will be much more openly critical of the German stance."