GREECE’S president has accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of insulting his nation, reflecting growing public resentment of almost daily lectures from Berlin on the dire state of the Greek economy.
A visibly angry President Karolos Papoulias singled out Schaeuble after he appeared to suggest Greece might go bankrupt, and also attacked critics of his country in the Netherlands and Finland.
“I cannot accept Mr Schaeuble insulting my country,” said Papoulias, an 82-year-old veteran of Greece’s resistance struggle against the Nazi occupation of World War Two.
“Who is Mr Schaeuble to insult Greece? Who are the Dutch? Who are the Finnish?” he said in a speech at the Defence Ministry.
Reuters reported that euro zone finance officials were examining ways of delaying parts or even all of a second bailout programme for Greece while still ensuring it avoids a disorderly default.
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are the countries pushing to delay the package, two other officials said, with Germany the most adamant and suggesting that final approval should only be granted after new elections are held.
“It is fair to say that my patience has run out,” Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager told US National Public Radio. “We have to see the evidence of implementing the measure into law and just promises are not enough, not anymore.”
The delays could possibly last until after Greece holds elections expected in April, sources told Reuters, although it would depend to what extent Greek political leaders make firm commitments on further spending cuts and labour reforms unpopular with voters.
“There are proposals to delay the Greek package or to split it, so that an immediate default is avoided, but not everything is committed to,” one official told Reuters.
“There is pressure from several countries to hold off until there is a concrete commitment from Greece, which may not come until after they’ve held elections.”
Greece’s conservative party leader Antonis Samaras, widely tipped as the country’s next prime minister, pledged in writing that if elected he would stick to an agreed programme of welfare and job cuts – a commitment demanded by euro zone ministers before they would agree to the new bailout.
Papoulias’ comments marked a highly unusual foray into international controversy as he normally steers clear of daily political debate.
Resentment of the tough German stand on Greece’s failure to meet targets set by the EU and IMF in return for financial aid has become widespread in recent months.
Protesters burned a German flag last week and newspapers have run computer-generated pictures of Chancellor Angela Merkel in a Nazi uniform.
With EU patience with Greek party politicians close to breaking point, Schaeuble has made a series of critical remarks in recent days.
He has likened the country to a bottomless pit and said on Monday that the euro zone was better prepared to overcome a Greek bankruptcy than two years ago.
Schaeuble also said the euro zone would do everything it could to avoid a Greek bankruptcy, which will happen in a chaotic fashion if Athens fails to secure an EU/IMF bailout before it has to repay €14.5 billion in debt next month.
Papoulias pointed out that Europeans had fought together in the past and said they should now work together during Greece’s crisis.
“We were always proud to defend not only our freedom, our country, but Europe’s freedom too,” he told a lunch attended by the defence minister and the country’s top military brass.
Finland has demanded that Greece put up collateral for rescue loans, while Dutch politicians have also taken a tough line on Greece’s problems.
With the nation deep in crisis, Papoulias has decided to forego his salary, the Greek finance minister said yesterday. Despite his largely ceremonial role, this was €280,000 a year, only slightly below US President Barack Obama’s $400,000 annual pay.
The frenzied effort to bail out Greece and save it from a potentially devastating debt default suffered another setback late Tuesday as a crucial meeting of eurozone finance chiefs slated for yesterday was called off. The meeting of the 17 euro countries to discuss Greece’s second multi-billion bailout that had been planned for yesterday was cancelled after Athens failed to deliver on several demands made by its partners in the currency union, although euro zone finance ministers were due to hold a conference call later yesterday to discuss how to proceed.
The last-minute cancellation of the meeting shows the euro zone wants much tougher guarantees from Athens before giving it an extra €130 billion in rescue loans, on top of €110 billion granted in 2010, raising fears that the complex deal could still fall apart.
Although the European Union is officially still warning of the far-reaching dangers of a disorderly default by Greece, some politicians have in recent weeks downplayed the effects of such an event.
“Greece has made all the efforts that it needed to do, and the people cannot take any more,” Greece’s public order minister Christos Papoutsis said after a cabinet meeting.
“The government is making superhuman efforts and we have reached the limits of the social and economic system. From now on, Europe has to take the responsibility.”
