Leaders discuss debt plan
Angela Merkel and Alexis Tsipras show goodwill in Berlin talks aimed at keeping Greece afloat.
ATHENS — Monday editions of the bestselling German tabloid Bild neatly summed up the complicated relationship being played out in talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
As Tsipras arrived in Germany, Bild blared greetings in Greek, and offered an article listing “50 reasons why the Greeks are dear to us.” Among them: olive oil, yogurt, the ancient mathematician Archimedes and the modern singer Nana Mouskouri.
Still, unable to resist a jibe, the newspaper, which has been critical of Greece throughout its debt crisis, proffered the Greek leader tips on thriftiness. “Look Mr. Tsipras, this is how to save money,” the headline declared. Merkel was not as blunt. With relations soured by bad blood over Athens’ debt woes, World War II reparation claims and lesser frictions, both leaders — meeting to discuss details of reform plans aimed at keeping Greece afloat — agreed to stop slugging it out.
“This meeting is the first stage in a new relationship between Greece and Germany,” Tsipras said. “We had a fruitful exchange that determined both common ground and differences between us. And that’s fine, because if we do not determine those differences, we will not be able to bridge them.”
Top among them, the Greek leader said, was removing stereotypes that portray Greeks as lazy and Germans as the source of Greece’s debt woes.
“We want to see Greece grow strong,” said Merkel. “We can work together, but we can also disagree.”
The upbeat remarks and breezy body language marked a stark contrast to the furrowed brows and verbal sniping traded between Greek and German ministers in recent weeks, sinking relations to record lows.
Even so, it remained unclear whether the two leaders narrowed major differences on economic reforms.
“If they don’t,” warned Konstantinos Filis, director of the Athens-based Institute of International Relations, “this bloodletting could see toxic repercussions.”
Monday’s meeting, the second get-together in five days, followed promises by Tsipras to tweak a list of reforms in order to unlock a first tranche of about $2 billion that Athens needs to make debt repayments by month’s end. The alternative could be eviction from the Eurozone.
Carefully dodging any comment, Merkel merely insisted that Athens stick to its commitments.
The 40-year-old Tsipras, a former Greek Communist Party youth leader, has already warned Merkel that it would be impossible for cash-strapped Greece to service its debt obligations without a fresh injection of rescue aid.
Merkel, 60, who lived through the uncontrolled collapse of communism in East Germany 25 years ago, has repeatedly said her political goal is to keep the euro area secure. But indicative of growing German frustration over Greece, a recent poll showed that more than 50% of Germans surveyed preferred to let Europe’s weakest financial member leave the 19-member euro currency club.
Renewed calls by Athens for Merkel’s coalition to pay reparations to victims of Nazi war crimes, and the Greek defense minister’s threats to unleash a wave of migrants, including Islamic State militants, to the heart of Europe if Greece is left to go broke, have added to voter impatience in Germany.
But on Monday, Tsipras seemed determined to bridge the rift, denying any designs by Athens to confiscate German assets as reparations. He even leapt to Merkel’s defense, saying caricatures depicting her as a Nazi officer outside the Acropolis were “wrong and unjust.”
He has vowed to submit a fresh draft of reforms to overhaul the Greek economy “as soon as possible.”