How the eurozone crisis is affecting Germany

If you want to paint a picture of Germany's soul in the middle of the European fiscal crisis, choose a dark background, depict blurred structures in grey and don't even think of artistic expressions of passionate emotions - neither joy nor rage. Not even hope.

Just try to visualise pessimism. Yes, pessimism. There's no better single word describing Germany's contemporary emotional landscape.

According to recent polls, 82% of the Germans are pessimistic concerning the future of Europe. That's the highest value measured since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. A sad majority of Germans simply look into the future; they do not look forward.

They watch the crisis just as an apathetic teenager not interested might watch Macbeth: seemingly passionless, indifferent, trying hard not fall asleep.

A nation without belief
The pessimistic majority in Germany has lost its belief: in the markets, in the idea of a united Europe and, first and foremost, in a political elite capable of controlling the unpredictable powers of the market.

What's left then? It's that belief in pessimism we have turned to. Four out of five Germans opine that the worst part of the crisis is still to come.

Pessimism as a psychological phenomenon is detectable all across Germany - infecting voters of every political party, in every region, every age and every education level.

Pessimism triggered by a heavy crisis endangering the wealth of an affluent society could be the starting point for protest, civil disobedience, rebellion and uprising - not in Germany, however.

We just seem to tolerate the status quo not dedicating themselves to any attempts to change the situation.

No desire for change
A return to the German Mark is not an option for the majority of them. What about a political change? Not likely. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, does not have to worry about her people pushing for any change.

She does not even have to fear the anger of her people when Germany pays the major share of the Greek bailout deal. Germans seem to be too overwhelmed by an ever-present crisis to be alarmed by details like this.

Ignoring the fact of being the paymaster for the eurozone's rescue fund, 60% of Germans believe that Angela Merkel has successfully represented German interests in the negotiations with other European leaders in the last weeks.

Let's zoom in to Frankfurt, in Germany's financial centre. Here, the anti-capitalism-movement has lost its glamour - even before you could really call it a movement.

In other big cities, demonstrations passed off smoothly without alarming anybody Hardly reaching the society on a large scale.

That's symbolic of the apathetic position that Germany perseveres: The pessimistic people in Europe's biggest economy are not heading for anger, uprising or protest. They are heading for nothing. Their pessimism is a dead-end road.