Chancellor Angela Merkel is considering easing Greece’s bailout terms, fanning tensions with members of her coalition who oppose giving the Greek government any more concessions, two German parliamentary deputies said.
Dr Merkel’s government is torn between showing some leniency toward Greece as it struggles to meet the terms of its rescue and insisting that prime minister Antonis Samaras deliver on his promises, Klaus-Peter Willsch and Frank Schaeffler – both of whom have voted against Merkel’s euro crisis policies in parliament – said.
“The sensitivities among many more than just the 27 coalition members who voted ‘no’ last time are well known [to Dr Merkel], so the official line is to stay tough [on Greece],” said Mr Willsch, a member of Dr Merkel’s CDU party. “But at the same time, some are being sent forward to test the waters on how this tough line can be abandoned.”
Almost three years after the debt crisis erupted in Greece, Mr Samaras’s government is awaiting a report by its international creditors next month on progress made in meeting bailout goals, an assessment that will determine whether it receives the next instalment of aid it needs to stay in the euro. Mr Samaras, whose governing coalition wants its fiscal adjustment programme to be extended by two years, is due to visit Berlin on August 24th for talks with Dr Merkel. – (Bloomberg)