Germany is the most powerful nation in the EU—certainly the most populous and arguably the most influential. But its influence till this point has been relatively subtle compared to the position of power it will attain in the near future.

Until now, the capital of the EU has not been Berlin, but the capital of a tiny Benelux nation: Brussels. Still, Germany is destined to lead a united Europe. Bible prophecy is clear on this. When you understand that, European events take on greater consequence!

According to a June 9 EUobserver.com article, a recent poll shows that “83 percent of Germans feel that too many decisions in Brussels are taken over their heads.” Another poll found that 96 percent of Germans would have voted against the EU constitution if it had been offered to them in a referendum. Add that to another poll finding that well over half of Germans want to ditch the euro and return to the deutschemark, and it is clear that Germany wants change in Europe—change that means Germany ruling Europe.

At the same time, German newspapers are bemoaning the lack of strong leadership in the EU. “As the political storm clouds gather over Brussels, the talk in German newspapers is not of any remote possibility of saving the constitution, but rather a complete failure of national leaders to sell the idea of Europe to the people” (Spiegel Online,June 3).

Spiegel Online quotes several of these sources. “The double blow of a leadership vacuum and a constitutional crisis is creating the biggest threat to Europe: a huge lack of vision,” said the center-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung (emphasis mine throughout).

The financial publication Handelsblatt said, “Schröder and Chirac lack the credibility for the strong declaration of belief in Europe which is now bitterly needed. The task [of rescuing the constitution] will be left to the next generation—probably Angela Merkel and [French politician] Nicolas Sarkozy.”

All this comes at an interesting time: Europe is in crisis, and Germany will likely be electing a new chancellor by autumn. Germans will elect someone who, not only can bring stability to the growing economic woes at home, but who can also speak more boldly in Europe on behalf of Germany. It’s likely that the new chancellor will be Ms. Merkel, with Bavarian führer Edmund Stoiber at her side.

The Financial Times Deutscheland wrote: “Berlin’s next head of government will play a decisive role in determining whether the EU is able to maintain its current status or whether chaos and doubt restore the community.”

In other words, it will be up to Germany to steer Europe’s fate!

We will be watching the Merkel-Stoiber duo for several reasons. Not least among them is the fact that they will take Germany into an even more prominent role in European politics. Europe will become less bureaucratic and by necessity less democratic. There will be less talk, less consultation, less wheeling-and-dealing, and simply more lightning-speed action.

This is exactly what Europe is pining for! The crisis over the constitution has only highlighted this leadership vacuum.

Watch for European leaders to look more to Germany for the vision that the EU presently lacks. And, likewise, watch for Germans to elect just the leader they need to put Germany in the driver’s seat of a Europe that meets the wishes of Germans and serves the nation’s grand designs.

For more on where Germany will take Europe, see our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.