A poll published on March 13 by German public broadcaster ZDF reveals that 52% of German citizens no longer want Greece to remain in Europe’s single currency, up from 41% last month, Bloomberg reported today. The shift is due to a view held by 80% of Germans that the newly elected Greek leftist-led government “is not behaving seriously toward its European partners.”
The poll’s outcome is seen as a significant and distinctive one regarding the European citizens’ opinion over a possible Grexit, as Germany is the biggest contributor to Greece’s 240-billion-euro bailout package. Moreover, its government and specifically Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is considered the leader of Eurozone’s hardline group of countries, promoting budget cuts and austerity measures imposed in return for aid. The results can be also justified due to tensioned relations between Athens and Berlin since SYRIZA won the January 25 snap elections in Greece after promises to end austerity. At the same time, the discussion regarding Germany’s World War II reparations to Greece has been fired up lately, with Athens threatening to seize German property in Greece if its demands are not met.
The shift in German sentiment comes as Greece battles with European officials over the release of more bailout funds, Bloomberg explained. “The pressure is coming from two sides: the public and some opposition parties. The government will probably react more decisively now,” Juergen Falter, a political scientist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, estimated.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
