German Chancellor Angela Merkel is determined to save Greece despite difficulties in negotiations between the country and its creditors, Die Welt says.
According to the German newspaper, the Greek issue will pass through Merkel’s hands, even though her Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, maintains a hard stance against Greece. The German chancellor also has to convince her party to vote for another financial aid program for Greece.
At the same time, the European Central Bank must throw Greece a lifebelt in order to avoid the dreadful Grexit scenario.
The report says negotiations are moving at a slow pace, but cooperation is better. However, the slow pace is working against Greece as the country is facing a serious liquidity problem.
Other than the financial side of the issue, there is also the political aspect of negotiations. If Greece and lenders manage to come to an agreement, the agreement must be presented in a way that will show that both sides have benefited from it. “The new deal must have a form that will be accepted by the skeptical German parliament and others,” the report says.
Along with the Germans, Dutch and Finnish parliaments oppose further financial aid to Greece. The deal must also be presented in a way that will satisfy the conservative SYRIZA side at least.
Even if it comes with a delay, Greeks must be certain that further financial aid will be disbursed, the newspaper says. In order to get the new bailout program, Greece must implement more reforms than its government wants but less than the creditors want.
The reasoning behind Merkel’s decision is that she doesn’t want to risk a Grexit. Europe is afraid that Greece’s exit from the euro zone would be a symbol of the vulnerability of the common currency, and that would be the beginning of the end for the euro.
Thereby, Greece’s salvation does not lie in the hands of Europe’s finance ministers or Yanis Varoufakis, but in the hands of the German chancellor and the ECB.
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