Germans torn between distrust, empathy

BERLIN “Everyone lost,” roared the headline of Germany’s biggest tabloid, after European leaders reached a tentative deal on Greek debt Monday. For Greeks, the deal entails deep new spending cuts, tax hikes and other harsh austerity measures. For Germans, the agreement means Europe’s largest economy will send billions more in bailouts to a country that’s regarded here as unproductive and beset by corruption. A survey last week by online financial portal smava found that 65% of Germans had no confidence in Greece’s promised reforms and did not want to send the country more aid.

At the same time, 78% of Germans also sympathized with Greeks suffering as their economy has shrunk in recent years while the country has labored under the onerous terms of previous bailout loans, according to an Emnid poll commissioned for

Bild this month. On the streets of Berlin, people echoed that split view.

“On the one hand, I think it’s really good that there’s a deal — a “Grexit” (exit from the euro) would have been too radical,” said Nicole Görlitz, a non-profit fundraiser. “But on the other hand, I can also understand people who are upset that we have to pay so much.”

Germany has contributed the largest share, around 27%, to the eurozone lenders’ $88.2 billion bailout fund. The eurozone, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have given Greece $240 billion in bailouts since 2010.

The Greek, German and other European parliaments must now approve the deal.

Experts believed the deal would breeze through Germany’s parliament, where Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party holds sway. Merkel, keeping in mind the unpopularity of bailouts among constituents, was unyielding during the talks.

“The German parliament and the Christian Democratic Union will stand behind Merkel,” said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING’s Frankfurt office. “There simply is no internal opposition to Merkel. If she tells them this is the deal we have, they will vote for it.” He said there is much skepticism and hesitation to be overly optimistic. “Keep the champagne bottles in the fridge, because it can still go wrong,” Brzeski added.

That prospect displeases many Germans.

“Opening another bailout fund for Greece is wrong,” said Reiner Holznagel, president of the German Association of Taxpayers. “They will never be able to fully settle this debt.”

Görlitz said kicking Greece out of the eurozone could undermine the euro and, therefore, harm Germany.

“One day, we might need help, too,” she said.