"BBC News - German President Koehler quits amid row over military"

This is simply - in my view - a further reflection of how vulnerable European governments find themselves at this time. There is an uninformed assumption that somehow Europe and European nations are a bureaucratic blob capable to doing that which they are forced to do because either economists think it is the right thing or they are pushed to do so by other countries and institutions. That is not the case. So much of Europe's ability to deal with the financial crisis is, ultimately but not remotely, dependent upon governments that are themselves dependent on democratically-obtained support. It is that support that is at greatest danger today.