There is probably nothing more destructive to friendly relations among democratic states than behavior by an ally that causes the other side to lose face at home. After all, it was Merkel who tried to calm the waters after the NSA scandal first hit Europe this summer.
对于民主国家之间的友好关系来说，也许没有比盟友让另一方在国内丢脸更具破坏性的了。毕竟，今年夏天美国国安局丑闻冲击欧洲时，默克尔还试图息事宁人。正因如此，美国被指窃听其手机令她十分受伤，不管从个人角度还是政治角度都是如此。