Just days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel heard Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ plans to make another $14.16 billion in cuts and impose more of the austerity measures she and international lenders have demanded, German media said she’s feeling the heat in her country from critics who want Greece out of the Eurozone.
After Merkel publicly supported Samaras, the CSU, the co-governing Bavarian party, said Greece shouldn’t stay in the Eurozone, another in a round of German political leaders wanting the country bounced out, ramping up more tension between the countries.
While in Berlin, Samaras had appealed for that kind of negative speculation to end, saying it was hurting his chances to privatize Greek entities and sell or lease state properties, as insisted upon by the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) that is lending Greece $325 billion to keep its economy alive,
The news channel N-TV said Merkel’s critics are going after her and that her governing coalition is weakening. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung titled its article Merkel Judges Those Who Judge Greece. Welt Online underlined that, Greece’s Future Causes Turmoil in CSU. Süddeutsche Zeitung stated that r Merkel failed to control the debate of the future of Greece in her own governing camp. “CSU clearly asked from Greece to leave the common currency. CSU clearly made Merkel look like a fool after announcing that the governing parties in Germany support Greece in her try to remain in the Eurozone” the paper continued.
Stuttgarter Zeitung looked at Greece more positively and asked how investors will return to Greece when the Minister of Industry in Germany was betting on Greece’s failure. Märkische Oderzeitung stated that the governing coalition puts forward contradictory announcements, noting that, “While Merkel is trying to persuade everyone that Greece will succeed, CSU asks for Greece to be kicked out of the common currency.” It added that what the CSU cares about is winning an absolute majority in next years’ elections in Bavaria and didn’t really care about Greece. Greece.
Samaras’s coalition is uneasy too. His New Democracy Conservatives are ruling, but only because of the backing of their rivals, the PASOK Socialists and tiny Democratic Left whose leaders are said to oppose his insistence on more austerity, although Greek media said is for consumption of their constituencies and they are privately backing him.
Greece’s international lenders are insisting on the cuts and more austerity measures, including the firing of 45,000 public workers, warning they will otherwise withhold the aid that is keeping the debt-crushed Greek economy alive, leaving Samaras with little choice but to do their bidding. Merkel is leading the charge for more pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions in Greece.
(Source: tvxs.gr)
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