Ireland’s hopes for a deal on banking debt are an ‘illusion’

THE dysfunctional relationship the Irish State enjoys with Germany has latterly developed all of the hallmarks of a chronic case of battered wife syndrome — and in case there’s any doubt, the Irish are the ones wearing the skirts.

European summit after European summit, Angela Merkel viciously knocks our guys around in Brussels but later, when she deigns to pick up the phone and offer a hollow apology, the long-suffering Irish go running back into her arms, her sins instantly forgotten.

The Germans reacted with some surprise when Ms Merkel’s categorical declaration, that there would be “no retroactive direct recapitalisation” of banks, was greeted with dumbfounded horror in Ireland and, really, who can blame them? They’ve been saying the same thing for months, with one official latterly calling Irish hopes for a deal on the banking debt an “illusion”, it’s just that our politicians have refused to give credence to the contrarians — until the latest contrarian, Ms Merkel, could no longer be ignored.