Courtesy of Mish.
Now that Germany’s ridiculous bluff that “Greece does not matter any more” failed to produce the desired reaction, German Lawmakers Say Greek Debt Talks Possible After Vote.
Germany is leaving the door open to discussing debt relief with Greece’s next government, lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition said, signaling a more flexible stance than her administration has taken publicly.
While writing off Greek debt isn’t on the table, talks on easing the repayment terms on aid that Greece received from European governments are possible after the country’s parliamentary elections on Jan. 25, the lawmakers from Germany’s two biggest governing parties said. The condition is that Greece sticks to its austerity commitments, they said.
“There should be talks with any government that emerges from the election,” Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, a Social Democrat who chairs the lower house’s finance committee, said in an interview. “You can talk about extending maturities and easing the interest rate on loans with a left-wing government, too.”
A senior lawmaker from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union said Germany will talk with any elected Greek government, including about an easing of aid conditions, as long as Greece doesn’t renege on its austerity commitments. The lawmaker asked not to be named because coalition discussions are private.
The comments by lawmakers suggest there’s leeway in German policy even as CDU leaders publicly refuse to offer Greece concessions. Merkel’s defense of the euro is under attack by Alternative for Germany, an anti-euro party founded in 2013 that’s won seats in three state assemblies and the European Parliament. A Finance Ministry spokeswoman in Berlin declined to comment on possible Greek debt relief.
Merkel Displeased
Speculation about Greece’s future in the euro area surged after Der Spiegel magazine reported this week that Merkel would be prepared to let the most-indebted country leave the bloc. Her comments today were her first on Greece since the report.
Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, says Germany’s goal remains for Greece to pursue its economic overhaul and stay in the euro, and the chancellery’s “political leadership” isn’t working on blueprints for a Greek exit.
Merkel was displeased with the Spiegel report because market turmoil may drive more voters to Syriza, according to a person with direct knowledge of her views who asked not to be named citing internal discussions.
Advantage Syriza
The immediately preceding paragraph seems backwards.
I suggest those statements by German politicians will allow Alexis Tsipras, head of the Greek radical-left party Syriza, to make the claim “See… I was right. We can renegotiate the debt“….
