To see the tension, all you have to do is look at the current accounts of Germany and its biggest European counterparts – France, Spain and Italy.

The current account is the less well- known, but more comprehensive, measure of the economic health of a nation, bringing together its exports and imports, the interest it pays to and receives from others, and even its foreign aid. Running a positive current account balance is, to a point, better than running a deficit.

Since the creation of the euro, Germany has run a pretty much consistent positive current account balance. Germany is better off to the tune of about €1.8 trillion (£1.5 trillion) since 2000. But if you add together the current account balances of France, Spain and Italy over the same time, they are collectively nearly €1.2 trillion in the red.