Merkel’s memoirs: The “undecided” Papandreou and the “surprise” from Tsipras – What does he say about Samaras –

Angela Merkel makes extensive reference to Greece, especially during the period of the financial crisis – the memoirs – in her memoirs, entitled “Freedom”, which are released today. The former chancellor refers to the negotiations for the rescue of Greece, the country’s role in the migration crisis and the Prespa Agreement, while also recalling incidents from the early 70s, when she united her voice with the people who demanded liberation of Mikis Theodorakis from the Junta.

“As my mother knew Greek, she helped me request his release in a letter in Greek. One morning a friend told me: Mikis betrayed us. What happened? I asked. He replied: He’s free, that’s what we wanted, but… But? He didn’t come to us, he went to the West.” Mrs. Merkel writes.

Angela Merkel devotes 35 of the 736 pages of her book to the Eurocrisis, starting with the first session of the European Council after the revelation that the Greek deficit amounted to 12.7% of GDP and not 3.7%. “The European Commission required Greece to reduce its deficit by four percentage points in 2010. (George) Papandreou agreed in principle to this, but he did not present a plan on how he wanted to achieve this goal. In our phone call I told (Nicolas) Sarkozy that I didn’t see what we could do for Greece the next day. I found a meeting without a clear goal counterproductive, as it could cause additional uncertainty.” writes the former chancellor. “(Jean-Claude) Trichet (then head of the ECB) concluded by saying: Greece must be helped now, because otherwise it is not guaranteed that the country will still be able to get money from the capital market in the spring. Like the day before, it was not clear to me what the help was supposed to consist of. (Jose Manuel) Barroso said he shares Trichet’s view, as does Sarkozy. The French President also referred to the Commission’s austerity demands for Greece and shouted angrily: “Saving four percentage points of GDP is the safe way to riot in the streets. We need more, not less, public spending. Greece must be helped!”, recalls the then chancellor, who had just started her second term.

“Everyone except me and Papandreou nodded in agreement. However, one of the most important conditions under which Germany joined the European Monetary Union was the No-Bail-Out clause, i.e. the obligation for each state to be responsible for repaying its own debts. This was enshrined in the EU treaties. Everyone in the room knew the legal situation, but no one seemed to care. At first I said something conciliatory: “Of course I want to help, we are a common eurozone”, but immediately added, “I can’t give money under any circumstances”. After noticing that Papandreou hadn’t said anything yet, I spoke directly to him: What do you really want? He replied that he didn’t want anything, but that Greece is doing very badly.”

Angela Merkel then describes how Jean-Claude Trichet insisted that Greece had to be helped, otherwise other countries in the Eurozone would be at risk, and admits that she herself insisted on not giving money “because I don’t tolerate violating the conditions”. Our Constitutional Court has decided here clearly: The non-rescue clause of the Treaty of Lisbon applies. I will not knowingly break any laws, he writes. “At the same time I thought: Everyone here wants something from you. Why isn’t anyone pressuring Greece to save money?”

According to Ms. Merkel’s account, Mr. Papandreou asked for time credit in order to submit deficit reduction proposals. “I found his reaction unbelievable. On the one hand there was a lot of pressure to do something and on the other hand it seemed like he had all the time in the world.” writes characteristically and acknowledges the important mediating role of the then President of the European Council, Herman Van Robay. She herself, she continues, returning to Berlin, was concerned about the fact that her newly formed government would have to deal with an issue that had not been raised in the programmatic agreement of the government partners. Additional, “the old fears from the time Helmut Kohl introduced the euro had reawakened”as there were still some who did not believe that the common currency would become as stable as the Deutsche Mark. “The willingness to help Greece was limited. For me and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, but also for the entire government coalition, the only option was bilateral loans for Greece combined with loans from the IMF, which would one day have to be repaid with interest. We had to ensure that incorrect information about a country’s deficit could not be given to the EU again. The competitiveness of some Eurozone members also needed to improve. Our philosophy was: Help, yes, but only in combination with measures,” emphasizes the former chancellor in her book.

Special mention is made on April 23, 2010, when it was announced that the Greek deficit would exceed 15%. “At that time, Prime Minister Papandreou was not in the capital Athens, but on the small island of Kastelorizo ​​near the Turkish coast. He was about to make a public statement about the situation in his country. In bright sunshine, with the picturesque harbor in the background, he announced that he would now submit a request for aid to the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund. He prepared his citizens for a difficult time, he spoke of a new odyssey.” states. She herself, a few days later, spoke to the Bundestag about “unique choice, no alternative” and for “last resort”in order to preserve the stability of the currency.

“But was I really right? Were there no alternatives that we simply hadn’t decided on? Of course, there are always alternatives in life. Strictly speaking, even jumping off the roof is an alternative – an alternative to life. In extreme terms, the collapse of IKB and HRE Bank and the end of the euro would also be an alternative to my decisions – but not a serious one for a country like Germany, the largest economy in Europe, in the heart of this continent, with over by eighty million people. I was convinced of that. In 2009 and 2010 I was heavily criticized for choosing the phrase “no alternative”. Commentators have accused me of being bossy, that instead of explaining the issue in detail, I dismissed all counterarguments and announced instructions in a take-it-or-leave-it style. But my purpose was the opposite”he explains.

Angela Merkel also features “nonsense” the claim by the then German opposition that it was trying to shut down the Greek bailout before state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. “The situation in Europe was too serious to allow myself to think about it. On the contrary, I was not willing to help Greece before the country presented a coherent reform programme. supports.

Referring to the Greek government’s proposal to hold a referendum, Mrs. Merkel writes that George Papandreou “he had great difficulty enforcing the reforms he had promised and in his desperation he had decided in October 2011 to let the people decide in a referendum on the austerity package, but he quickly abandoned his plan when Barroso, Phan Robay, Sarkozy and I made it clear to him on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Cannes on November 3 and 4 2011 that reforms were inevitable.” Shortly afterwards, he resigned, a transitional government took over and Antonis Samaras was elected prime minister in the June 2012 elections, Angela Merkel adds. For the former prime minister he states that “was unable to fully implement the reforms associated with the second bailout” and the election of Alexis Tsipras followed.

Referring to the first visit of Mr. Tsipras in the chancellery on March 23, 2015, Angela Merkel admits that she was waiting for her with curiosity and great interest, to get to know better the personality of the newly elected prime minister who was 20 years her junior. “He had made a nice impression on me, I couldn’t say more. From the first meetings I knew he spoke good English,” writes the former chancellor and recalls that Alexis Tsipras was late in arriving at the chancellery, because he stopped to talk to the left-wing protesters who had gathered outside the building. During the talks, Mrs. Merkel seems to have a positive attitude towards the Greek prime minister, but she realizes that finding a way for the Greek government to meet the demands of the troika without breaking its pre-election promises was equivalent, as she typically says, by squaring the circle.

According to Angela Merkel’s memoirs, leaders in the European Council thought they had agreed on the new support package for Greece when Alexis Tsipras announced he would consult his cabinet. In a phone call later that night, he announced the decision to hold a referendum in which the government’s proposal would be in favor of “no.” “That was probably the most surprising moment of all the phone calls I’ve made in my political life,” Mrs. Merkel writes about it.

In a different tone, Mrs. Merkel describes as courageous and decisive the action of Alexis Tsipras and the former Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, to resolve the naming issue with the Prespa Agreement.

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