I am slightly bewildered by the antics of Cobra Beteiligungs GmbH (Cobra to you and me), the group which once threatened to topple Commerzbank. Cobra's battle plan was brilliant. Commerzbank was a management basket case which could have been rolled over in the clover without a hint of protest. The pillaging Cobra would have sized up all of Commerzbank's best assets and walked away with bags of swag.

What went wrong? Why did Cobra's best-laid plans end up with the rampant pillager shooting itself first in the foot and then in the duff? Could it have played a worse hand?