None of the choices he made to handle the Greek crisis would change if he could go back in time, he says Angela Merkeljust ten years after the dramatic summer of 2015 and while she is out of central political scene.
The former Chancellor of Germany in an interview with SKAI and Alexis Papachela stated extensively how he lived at that time and, in answer to the journalist’s questions, argued that he would not apologize to the Greeks, but would say “thank you” for being able to afford it.
She herself said she was wounded by the fact that the Greek press of the time, as well as the protesters linked her to Nazism. But it hurt her, as she said, and the fact that she heard that the Greeks were lazy, “it’s that, it’s the other”: you can’t, he said, judge a stereotype people, since you will not see and will not solve the problem.
«No, I wouldn’t apologize Because I thought something had to change and that I couldn’t change Greek politics. This had to be done internally. But I would like to say that I understand and thank all those who raised such a burden to stay in the eurozone and thus offered a good service to Europe. We stayed united in this difficult situation.
So I wanted to thank you and say that I had a complete awareness of what many people were going through“The former German Chancellor said in the question of whether he would apologize to the Greeks for what they went through during the crisis.
“There are no Greeks and the Germans. As there are, unfortunately, there are corrupt German companies, so there were some Greek. Correspondingly there are more and less workers Germans and Greeks. I have to look at each case separately. If I start judging a whole nation based on a stereotype then I have failed and I cannot solve any problems. Of course, and it hurt me when someone said that the Greeks are that too.
Of course, the Greek people then said that the Germans were always stingy and corrupt. We had a problem ahead of us and it was in Greece’s interest to solve this problem. I don’t like these generalizations at all, “Angela Merkel said about stereotypes and what had been heard about Greeks about how much they work and if they are lazy.
“February-March 2010 I understood the magnitude of the problem in Greece”
As for when it was the first time he realized that there was debt issue in Greece, Merkel replied: “I became Chancellor in 2005, and in 2009 we had elections again. The SPD left the government coalition and created a new coalition with the liberal FPD party. Essentially in 2009 to 2010, I realized for the first time that there is a problem with a very high Greek debt.
I think Prime Minister G. Papandreou announced the gravity of debt and then the international credentials were activated and pointed out the problem with the European Commission. The size of the problem as a whole I understood February – March 2010. “
“He surprised me that no one asked Papandreou what he wanted to do”
On the 2010 meeting with Papandreou on the measures that Greece should take, the former Chancellor said: “It was not Papandreou who applied for financial support but mainly the concerns of Jean -Claude Trichet, the then President of the European Central Bank of the European Central Bank that there is a big problem at the time. But I didn’t understand as everyone argued why we had to do something before Prime Minister Papandreou tells us what he intends to do. There was a great deal of disruption and I had to understand what they were expecting from Germany. Of course, they saw us as the strongest economy, so they waited for us to solve the problem. But, you know, the euro had not been designed so, but so that each country would apply its own economic and social policy.
However, people then said that they wanted money from Germany although the euro was not created as our constitutional court was explicitly confirmed to support one country financially. So I didn’t even have the opportunity to intervene. So the situation was very difficult for both Greece and Germany.
I was surprised that no one asked the Greek Prime Minister what he wanted to do. The committee had stipulated that 4% of GDP had to be caught up with a huge amount. Sarkozy said that could not be done because people would be demonstrated on the streets. I was waiting for the Greek Prime Minister to finally react. However, it still didn’t have a comprehensive plan as I understood retrospectively. Of course, one has to say clearly where this 4% would come from and I think it was not ready yet, and this is not a category, to say how to do it. He had become prime minister, he had a legacy he had to manage. Maybe everything had evolved milder if we didn’t have the global financial crisis. Because the global financial crisis has shook all the banks around the world. “
“I didn’t want Greece to get out of the euro”
Asked if she came to the conclusion that Greece needed Grexit, Angela Merkel made it clear that her decision was to do everything to stay in the EU and that there was no exit plan.
“This reappeared more strongly later, when Alexis Tsipras became prime minister. I thought a lot on this question and came to the conclusion that the euro is more than a currency. Greece is an important country in the EU. Do we always say that Greece is the cradle of democracy and now this country leaves the euro area? I think when Europe is doing backs, it’s very bad.
It was very upset when Brexit took place. So I thought about 2010 until 2011 and I decided to do everything in our power to stay in the euro. But I don’t think anyone can hide the problems under the carpet. That is why I have received strong criticism as I have always been saying things, as bad, by their name. Then I leaned over the problem of Greece, but always with respect and love for the country.
But when we learned that baby foods were sold only in pharmacies, then we knew that the population bought them 20 to 30% more expensive than if they bought them in supermarkets. Or when we learned that there was no land registry. We had to correct these. So he said that we need to do everything to keep the country in the eurozone. Because even a departure can create a precedent by potentially destroying the whole European building. “
“It hurt me when I was linked to Nazism”
The former Chancellor was asked about the comments that existed in the Greek press about herself and how they made her feel: “Not fine. Of course it hurt me when I was associated with Nazism and the demonstrations that took place at the time. I came here once and there was a demonstration in every square. I had to cross the city very quickly, which of course I didn’t like.
But politics is not an event to enjoy it. The important thing is that I was convinced that Greece can do it. Sometimes it bothered me that some social groups might have to suffer more than others. But that was a decision of the Greek politicians and I could not intervene. “
The first meeting with Tsipras and the referendum
“We met in Brussels and invited him to visit me. The beginning of the visit was a bit strange because I was standing in front of the chancellor and waiting for him. A group of leftist party had gathered behind Kagelia. I heard him get out of the car and listen to the international. I stood there with all the photographers and they were reporting what Merkel would do if Tsipras first greeting his comrades. Passing in front of the unattended I told him that it was a bit strange to go to the left first and he replied that we should always support ours. I found his answer smart, “Merkel said of her first meeting with Tsipras.
As for the referendum and how he reacted to Alexis Tsipras’ decision, Angela Merkel said: “I didn’t know what to say. We had negotiated all night. He would return to his home country and talk to his party. I asked him what you were expecting to do and he replied I don’t know. I was absolutely convinced that the party and his government would say yes we would do that. He called us and told us that he would hold a referendum in a few days, and he had not responded positively or negatively. I asked him what his position was and told me of course no. I lost them and said “very interesting”.
I had no plan for Grexit because I had not understood what was hiding behind this move and of course I knew that the Greek people did not vote for staying in the euro or not. “
See Angela Merkel’s entire interview
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