FEAR of Germany was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the European Union. In the eight decades before 1950 aggressive Teutonic militarism had plunged Europe into three savage conflicts, leaving millions dead and entire nations ravaged. The architects of European political integration were determined this should never happen again.
Angela Merkel backed Jean-Claude Junker for political reasons [EPA]
So German ambitions were to be suppressed through the construction of a federal superstate. "We are carrying out a great experiment," one that would "put an end to war and guarantee eternal peace", wrote Robert Schuman, founding father of the European Community in the 1950s.
But the belief that Brussels would constrain Berlin has turned out to be a dangerous illusion. It is a tragic paradox that an organisation built to hold back Germany has ended up giving the country more influence over her neighbours than at any time since the Second World War. The self deceiving dreamers of Brussels thought their federation would act as a straitjacket but it is the rest of Europe that is now trapped in the asylum, with the Germans holding the keys.
That bitter truth has been exposed over the farcical appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker, the veteran political operator and federalist fanatic from Luxembourg, as the new President of the European Commission in succession to the equally unimpressive Jose-Manuel Barroso.
EVEN within diehard pro-European circles there is little pretence that Juncker is the right man for the job. A cynical careerist who is only interested in backroom deals, not real reform, he has been plagued by allegations he has a serious drink problem.
But this is the man who has been imposed on Europe largely because German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed his cause. Initially she hinted to David Cameron she would oppose Juncker in view of his lack of reforming credentials and his unfitness for office but she then reversed her position.
It is a sign of Germany's complete dominance of the EU that all the other national leaders, except for Hungary's, fell in obediently behind her. Cameron never stood a chance once the Merkel juggernaut began to move, crushing all dissent. As one British diplomat put it, the other countries "didn't want to be on the wrong side of Germany".
There has been nothing humiliating about Cameron's action. At least he had the guts to stand up for what he felt was right instead of colluding in another shabby EU stitch-up orchestrated from Berlin.
But the intriguing question is why Merkel was so keen to foist Juncker on the EU Commission. One reason was that Juncker's chief rival for the commission presidency was Martin Schulz, a German bookseller, staunch socialist and head of the European Parliament. Within Germany Schulz is an opponent of Merkel's Christian Democratic Party, which meant she had little enthusiasm for his candidacy.
More importantly Germany has huge financial interests in Luxembourg. The German banking group is by far the largest in the tiny state's lucrative financial services industry, with no fewer than 42 institutions.
By installing Luxembourg's arch wheeler-dealer in the top post Merkel not only ensured German interests were protected but also that financial reform would receive little priority.
On another level the elevation of Juncker suited the power-hungry ambitions of Germany and EU federalists who have acted in an unholy alliance to seize control from the rest of the member states. Until the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 the decision over the EU Commission presidency lay with the heads of government.
But Lisbon required them to take account of the European Parliament's wishes. Because Juncker was the candidate of the European People's Party, the largest grouping in the assembly, he became the frontrunner.
Yet the idea that because of the European Parliament's machinations Juncker has any sort of a mandate is absurd. His name was on no ballot paper in the recent European elections. Not a single elector voted for him. His EPP actually lost seats in May, securing just 28 per cent of the overall vote.
But Merkel gave her backing to this sham of democracy because an extension of the European Parliament's power also extends Germany's influence. Not only are other national leaders weakened but also Germany is proportionately by far the strongest voice in the parliament, holding 98 of the 751 seats.
MEANWHILE the federalist maniacs see the parliament as another vehicle for reducing the member states to the status of regional provinces under the governance of a United States of Europe.
In any federal European entity Germany will have by far the biggest role. This is the country that already runs the eurozone ruthlessly in its own interests while figures such as Barroso and the Council President Herman Van Rompuy are little more than puppets, their strings pulled by Berlin.
It is outrageous we should now be governed by Germany's placemen. We went to war in 1914 and 1939 to uphold our national independence from the threat of German domination. The events of recent days have confirmed that our continuing membership of the EU will bring about precisely the result that previous generations, in a spirit of monumental self-sacrifice, tried to avoid.
