Commentary: Merkozy Is Dead, Long Live…
Assistant Editor, CNBC.com
The euro zone's formidable couple—Merkozy, as the media calls German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy—were on the brink of divorce more than once.
They have argued about anything from the role of the European Central Bank to whether or not the euro zone should issue joint euro bonds. And now it looks like the couple will turn into a trio—or would menage a trois be a more appropriate description?
On November 17, the Merkozy couple was joined by New Italian Prime Minister Mario Montiin discussing ways to deal with the current European sovereign debt crisis.
And as the trio is due to meet again on Thursday in Strasbourg, France, to discuss (or perhaps fight over) the role of the European Central Bank, we thought editors throughout the world will need a new name that will give Mario Monti his rightful place within this love-hate-fear triangle.
We decided to open the contest to our viewers on Twitterand answers were often satirical; we had suggestions such as Muppets, super-M.A.N., or MaNicA.
One Twitter follower suggested MerKoNti “because it's the nearest to mercantilism, markets, contor etc.” he explained. Two suggestions actually involved references to Pokemons—MerOzyMon—and to Tamagochis—MonMerKozy.
One viewer's suggestion particularly caught our attention by anticipating future needs. Why not call it Van Dramonkel, he said, since Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank governor, and Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, will soon also step in the frame?
But as witty and relevant his remark was, if we’re going that way, we’ll also need to find a play on words involving Lucas Papademos and Mariano Rajoy, the newly appointed Greek and Spanish prime ministers. What about Netherlands’ Mark Rutte? Portugal’s Pedro Celho? Or Finland’s Tarja Hallonen?
And whose name should we use to represent the country that has not been able to form a government in 400 days, namely Belgium?
In the end, in order to keep the catchy, headline-friendly spirit of Merkozy, suggestions such as MerMoZy, MerTiZy or MerMoSa seemed to be the most relevant. But to be honest, I have a personal favorite: “Super-Merkozy.”
