Europe's voters delivered another rebuke to their leaders for failing to overcome a debt crisis that has thrust much of the region into an economic tailspin.
Less obvious is what Europeans expect their governments to do differently. From Greece to France, incumbents lost power—joining a long list that includes the former leaders of Spain and Italy. But their successors will likely find it difficult to pursue policies that deviate much from the austerity-focused course championed by Germany, Europe's paymaster.
As Europe's only healthy large economy, Germany's support would be essential for any change. And Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government, fearful of popular resistance in Germany, have made clear in recent weeks that they wouldn't soften their austerity demands.
Turning away from austerity could trigger a further selloff in credit markets. If François Hollande, whom France elected president, were to embark on a Keynesian stimulus program, for instance, investors could doubt France's commitment to fiscal discipline. That would put its credit rating—key to keeping its cost of borrowing down—at risk.
Even as the political lineup changes, Ms Merkel and her hawkish allies at the European Central Bank remain firmly in control of European economic policy. Like Ms Merkel, ECB President, Mario Draghi, and the influential Bundesbank President, Jens Weidmann, oppose any moderation of European structural reform, fiscal stimulus or the creation of common European bonds.
Moreover, German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, is expected to take over leadership of the euro group, a key forum for shaping the eurozone's crisis response. And German officials already control other levers in Europe's crisis-fighting framework, including its main bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
It is possible Berlin might be open to some compromises. One potential area is using the bailout fund to help the continent's beleaguered banks. European banks are among the largest holders of the region's government debt and have been forced to take substantial losses on some of those holdings. In addition, the worsening economic environment caused by the deep public spending cuts in countries such as Spain and Portugal have put additional pressure on banks as private and commercial creditors default.
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