Merkel feels the heat even on holiday

Merkel was caught by the cameras as she had a private dip while holidaying with her husband at Hotel Miramare on the island famous for its thermal baths off the coast of Naples.

Trying to sink her troubles: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive to take a bath in a swimming pool in the coastal town of Sant'Angelo d'Ischia, Italy. Pic/AFP

But Stefano Caldoro, president of the local Campania region, urged the Chancellor to consider the impact of the current economic crisis on those in difficulty like failed businesses and young unemployed during her Easter holiday.

"Here there are 10 young unemployed for every young one without work in Germany," Caldoro said in a video message published by Italian media.

The video was entitled: ‘Welcome to our ever hospitable land Mrs Merkel. But now look around you' and was aired with German subtitles.

In a strongly-worded message Caldoro said Italians could not tolerate a ‘double-sided Europe' nor anti-German sentiment. "But Chancellor Merkel should reflect: here is a stronger country that today enjoys the benefits of the crisis from others," he said. "And this is a Europe that cannot continue."