Regardless of the 17th June election winner in Greece, the new government would be given a final chance, reads an extensive Reuters report citing a German EU official. The report focuses on the progressive deterioration of relations between Germany and Greece over the Greek debt crisis management in the past two years.
Political decisions and instability in Greece, misunderstandings and public attacks have resulted in the break down of traditionally positive relations between Greece and Germany since October 2011.
“There will be a very clear 100-day plan for a new government. If it’s not implemented in full, then the game is over,” the official told Reuters. “This is a very bitter election for the Greek people. They are being asked to support the old guard that got them into this mess.”
Other German officials cited in the report entitled “Germany and Greece: A tale of Estrangement” believe that Greece cannot exit the Euro Zone as easily as it has being described. In fact, according to a high-ranking European central banker, Greece cannot be forced out of the Euro Zone if it does not want this to happen. Europe may decide to stop funding the debt-ridden country, and Greece will default by September but it will still be using the common currency.
The report is a chronicle of the escalating tension between the two countries and the deep cultural and political differences that do not boost bilateral cooperation. Berlin has lost all trust in Athens, its politicians and its never-ending bureaucracy that hinders the implementation of all decisions agreed upon. The fight against corruption has not borne fruit yet and tax-evasion still lingers on.
However, Greece is not the only one to blame for the financial disaster that is threatening the whole Euro Zone. According to Reuters, Greece’s European partners including Germany “bailed out Greece over two years ago, but then proceeded to ignore it until late 2011,” when the country’s plagued economic situation and political turmoil brought it back to the forefront.
“For a year after the first bailout, neither Berlin nor Brussels made any symbolic political gestures towards Greece. No one traveled there to take stock of the situation for themselves,” said Markus Kerber, chief executive of the BDI industry federation and a former finance ministry official, according to the report.
According to Kerber, Chancellor Merkel cannot simply show Greece the door out of the Euro Zone because this would certainly cause a wide uncontrolled chain reaction across its members. The devastating consequences to follow a Greek exit from the Euro would be even felt in Germany, whose exports are dependent on the financial health of its partners.
Kerber compared Greece and Germany to a married couple that started loathing each other after years of marriage but who must stay together for some time for the sake of their children.
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