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THE heavy-handed bullying of Greece continued today as the Syriza government struggled to find a way to square its economic circle.
As Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis conducted desperate negotiations and finance ministers waited in Brussels for the result, German politicians put the boot in.
“The Greeks have acted like elephants in a china shop,” pronounced German EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger.
“They have already done quite a bit to sap the confidence of their European partners.”
And German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that she needed to see a “significant improvement” in Greece’s request for further aid.
She claimed that Germany’s aim since the debt crisis started had been to keep Greece in the euro and it would “try everything to continue on this path.”
But she dismissed Greece’s request for a six-month loan extension.
Ms Merkel said: “If we are talking about an extension of the programme, we need to know what that means.”
She said there needed to be “significant improvement in the substance of what is being considered.”
Greece wants an extension on its funding for six months to be agreed in Brussels but has rejected strict austerity conditions which Germany has insisted must remain.
The Greek government faces the unpalatable prospect of reneging on its election promises to ease the austerity measures weighing so heavily on Greek citizens, or possibly leaving the euro.
Talks between finance ministers were delayed by at least 90 minutes today as officials scrambled to make progress behind the scenes.
It has been suggested there is now 80 per cent agreement on the Greek plan — which Germany had previously dismissed as a “Trojan horse, intending to get bridge financing and in substance putting an end to the current programme.”
And Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was “certain” his government’s request would be accepted despite Berlin’s objections.
But even should the request meet the requirements of Germany and the other EU countries, the real question is if Mr Tsipras can sell it to the voters to whom he promised so much.
