Merkel, Hollande Give Samaras Both Barrels

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras won’t be getting any sympathetic ears in Berlin and Paris where he’s hoping to persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande to give Greece two more years to impose more austerity measures and make $14.16 billion in cuts demanded by international lenders.
Merkel and Hollande locked arms and put on a united front, saying Greece has to stick to its commitments, although the French President was elected on an anti-austerity platform. He said that applies to France and not Greece.
Merkel, whose country is footing much of the bill in $325 billion in two bailouts for debt-crushed Greece, said she wants to wait to see a report from inspector of the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) which has been checking Greece’s books. She said it’s critical “that we all stay true our commitments,” an ominous warning that she won’t brook any deviations by Samaras.
“But we will, and I will, encourage Greece to continue on its path to reform, which has demanded a lot of the Greek people,” she told reporters before a dinner with Hollande. The French leader said: “We want, I want, Greece to be in the Eurozone, it’s a desire we have expressed since the start of the crisis. It’s up to the Greeks to make the effort that is essential for that goal to be met.”
Samaras has given interviews to German media stressing that while Athens may seek more time to meet the targets, it is not asking for more money. But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and others seemed unconvinced. “More time is not a solution to the problems,” Schaeuble said, addressing Samaras’ hopes that his country might be given four years instead of two to push through painful economic reforms, to alleviate the impact on the Greek people. Schaeuble said more time could also mean “more money” and Europe’s help for Greece had already “gone to the limits of what is economically viable”.
Samaras is seeking what he calls “a bit of air to breathe” at a moment of rare optimism on financial markets that the EU and ECB are poised for decisive action on the euro debt crisis. Despite their harsh words, Merkel and Hollande may have to bend because without the continued lifeline loans, Greece would be forced out of the Eurozone and back to the drachma, which could complete the country’s collapse and bring down the Eurozone of the 17 countries using the euro with it.