What Angela Merkel Owes the Rest of Europe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s reelection was both resounding and well-deserved. Having secured a mandate from the German people, she now must tell Europe how she plans to secure the future of the union and its currency, the euro.

Europe needs this speech for two reasons. The first is that Merkel’s firefighting policies have managed to keep the euro area together, but at a cost to the European Union; the “ever-closer” integration that has been under way since the 1957 Treaty of Rome is in question. Merkel may be the only person who can credibly restore a sense of direction to the union. The second is that financial markets, investors, Greeks, Spaniards, and others need to know that Europe’s most important economy is committed to the euro zone’s future.