German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Greek leftist opposition Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) leader Alexis Tsipras on Jan. 14 that there won’t be any changes to the tough austerity program being pursued by the conservative-led government, conditions that Tsipras said he would scrap if he ever takes power even though he hasn’t offered any ways to raise revenues to keep the economy from collapsing.
“Minister Schaeuble has told Mr. Tsipras unequivocally that there is no alternative to the… implementation of the economic adjustment program. Minister Schaeuble urged Mr. Tsipras to back the path embarked upon,” a ministry source told Reuters.
Tsipras, whose opposition leftist SYRIZA party has now slipped behind the ruling New Democracy Conservatives in opinion polls, has led opposition to the spending cuts and tax hikes that Germany has insisted on in return for billions of euros in euro zone aid to stave off the country’s bankruptcy.
Ahead of the meeting, the SYRIZA leader said it was in Greece’s interests for his party to smooth over relations with the German government.
“SYRIZA wants to have normal relations with the governments that play an important role in Greek and European affairs.” “The Germans are very practical people,” he added. “They can see that SYRIZA could be the next government and they want to prepare the ground by having direct contact with us. We want the same.”
After the meeting, Tsipras said that “life itself” has rejected. “I analyzed for Mr. Schaeuble SYRIZA’s position for exiting the crisis,” said Tsipras after the Berlin meeting, which is said to have lasted an hour rather than the half hour originally planned. “I told him that austerity programs have failed in Europe and especially in Greece. The memorandums of austerity have been rejected by life itself. Now, we must face the consequences.”
Tsipras outlined the challenges Greece faces as it enters its sixth consecutive year of recession, with more pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions being implemented. “We have to face up to the desperation caused by unemployment and the rise of fascism,” he said. “This nightmare cannot return or spread across Europe.”
Tsipras added that it was important for Greece to emerge from the crisis having learned from its mistakes and rid itself of “the social and political establishment that led us to this point,” the newspaper Kathimerini reported. In an interview with Deutsche Welle’s Greek service over the weekend, Tsipras referred to convincing the German government that there should be a “review” of Greece’s fiscal consolidation program.
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou identified this as a departure from SYRIZA’s position that it would tear up Greece’s EU-IMF bailout agreement if it came to power. “Is this the same person that was promising the Greek people he would cancel with one law the memorandum and loan agreement?” said Kedikoglou.
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