Germany Sees Greek Euro Exit as Manageable Outcome, Spiegel Says
2015-01-03 20:27:17.173 GMT
By Patrick Donahue
(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
administration sees a potential Greek exit from the euro area as
manageable, Der Spiegel reported, citing unidentified government
officials in Berlin.
Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble both view
the shared-currency area as capable of withstanding Greece’s
departure, a scenario that would become almost unavoidable if a
new government led by Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras were to renege on
spending cuts and fail to service the country’s debt, according
to the Hamburg-based magazine.
Greece will hold early elections on Jan. 25 after Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras, whose New Democracy party has led a
government since mid-2012, failed to draw parliamentary backing
for a new head of state. Polls show New Democracy and Pasok,
Greece’s two main parties over the past four decades, trailing
Tsipras’s anti-austerity Syriza alliance.
Syriza has pledged to renegotiate payment terms on bailout
loans to Greece and seek a writedown on its national debt.
German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said by
phone that he wouldn’t comment on “speculative scenarios.” The
ministry referred to a Dec. 29 statement by Schaeuble, who said
there was no alternative to Greek efforts to overhaul the
economy, which are “bearing fruit.”
‘Become Difficult’
While Germany will continue to support the Mediterranean
country, “if Greece chooses a different path, it will become
difficult,” Schaeuble said in the statement. The new government
must stand by agreements made by its predecessors, he said.
Merkel spokesman Georg Streiter also referred to the
Schaeuble statement.
Accepting Greece’s exit from the euro area would mark a
reversal of Merkel’s position throughout the currency bloc’s
debt crisis, which erupted in Greece in 2009.
The threat of contagion has since diminished, Spiegel cited
the government officials as saying. They pointed to the recovery
in Ireland and Portugal, two euro nations that sought bailout
assistance, as well as the strength of the currency area’s
backstop fund and the establishment of a bloc-wide banking
union, the magazine reported.
For Related News and Information:
Why Greek Spillover to Euro Area Will Be Contained This Time
Samaras Has Four Weeks to Trump Syriza on Economic Vision
Greek Polling Points to Coalition as Voters Reject Establishment
Top government articles: TOP GOV <GO>
Top economy stories: TOP ECO <GO>
Top news on Greece: TOP GR <GO>
--With assistance from Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Patrick Donahue in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6220 or
pdonahue1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Alan Crawford at +49-30-70010-6237 or
acrawford6@bloomberg.net
Balazs Penz, Nancy Moran
2015-01-03 20:27:17.173 GMT
By Patrick Donahue
(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
administration sees a potential Greek exit from the euro area as
manageable, Der Spiegel reported, citing unidentified government
officials in Berlin.
Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble both view
the shared-currency area as capable of withstanding Greece’s
departure, a scenario that would become almost unavoidable if a
new government led by Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras were to renege on
spending cuts and fail to service the country’s debt, according
to the Hamburg-based magazine.
Greece will hold early elections on Jan. 25 after Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras, whose New Democracy party has led a
government since mid-2012, failed to draw parliamentary backing
for a new head of state. Polls show New Democracy and Pasok,
Greece’s two main parties over the past four decades, trailing
Tsipras’s anti-austerity Syriza alliance.
Syriza has pledged to renegotiate payment terms on bailout
loans to Greece and seek a writedown on its national debt.
German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said by
phone that he wouldn’t comment on “speculative scenarios.” The
ministry referred to a Dec. 29 statement by Schaeuble, who said
there was no alternative to Greek efforts to overhaul the
economy, which are “bearing fruit.”
‘Become Difficult’
While Germany will continue to support the Mediterranean
country, “if Greece chooses a different path, it will become
difficult,” Schaeuble said in the statement. The new government
must stand by agreements made by its predecessors, he said.
Merkel spokesman Georg Streiter also referred to the
Schaeuble statement.
Accepting Greece’s exit from the euro area would mark a
reversal of Merkel’s position throughout the currency bloc’s
debt crisis, which erupted in Greece in 2009.
The threat of contagion has since diminished, Spiegel cited
the government officials as saying. They pointed to the recovery
in Ireland and Portugal, two euro nations that sought bailout
assistance, as well as the strength of the currency area’s
backstop fund and the establishment of a bloc-wide banking
union, the magazine reported.
For Related News and Information:
Why Greek Spillover to Euro Area Will Be Contained This Time
Samaras Has Four Weeks to Trump Syriza on Economic Vision
Greek Polling Points to Coalition as Voters Reject Establishment
Top government articles: TOP GOV <GO>
Top economy stories: TOP ECO <GO>
Top news on Greece: TOP GR <GO>
--With assistance from Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Patrick Donahue in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6220 or
pdonahue1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Alan Crawford at +49-30-70010-6237 or
acrawford6@bloomberg.net
Balazs Penz, Nancy Moran