British and German alliance?

Britain's influence in Europe has been marginalized for half a century "as Germany and France built the EU to suit themselves".  Europe's financial mess now makes the UK a better bargaining partner for Germany than France. Walter Russell Mead was one of the first to note the "eye-popping possibility" of this news story.

"Germans can be very pragmatic; offering substantial concessions to Britain complicates but does not destroy the realization of Germany’s vision.  Letting France write the economic laws of the Euro-zone turns a German dream of European integration into a nightmare of inflation and disorder.

Germany and Britain could be cooking up a deal behind France’s back that would throw British support to German plans for the Continent in exchange for German acceptance of key UK demands, safeguarding London’s financial industry, giving the UK some opt outs from European regulations it doesn’t like plus some budget relief, and ensuring that non-euro states won’t be frozen out of future EU plans".

Photo is of Walter Russell Mead, nom de plume of Professor Chace
Correction:  Mead is Mead and he holds the James Clarke Chace chair at Bard College NY.