“That’s the predicament of leadership,” said Joschka Fischer, a former foreign minister who has urged Merkel to do more to support the euro. “When Germany acts, there is the fear that Germany will dominate. If Germany doesn’t act, it’s the fear that Germany will withdraw from Europe.”…

In the long run, though, experts say Merkel has little leeway to turn away from Europe, even though that course might be popular with some German voters. Germany makes its money by manufacturing high-quality products and industrial machinery that it then sells outside its borders, so its success depends on those around it. A recession in the rest of Europe would quickly hit it, too.

At the highest levels of the chancellery, there is a sense that now is the time for grand plans, and Merkel this month called for far-reaching changes intended to impose greater economic policy coordination among the 17 countries that share the euro. A change could take years to take effect, but a first step could come at the G-20 meeting of world leaders Nov. 3.