Talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christiane Lagarde on Tuesday underscored the differences between Germany and the IMF on dealing with the threat of new financial crisis in Greece. Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Merkel ruled out again debt relief for Greece. However, she also stressed that the IMF remains n Greece.
“Quite simply, in our opinion it is not legally possible (in the eurozone),” the chancellor said.
On her part, Lagarde said that “debt sustainability” was critical to the IMF if the organization is to join the current aid programme for Athens as Greece’s troubled finances returned to the international spotlight.
Athens must implement “significant reforms” to ensure IMF aid, Lagarde said.
The talks between Lagarde and Merkel took place during the chancellor’s annual meeting in Berlin with the chiefs of the world’s top economic institutions.
The IMF wants either debt relief or additional measures of strict austerity for Greece – possibly through a new bailout that would be the fourth since 2010.
Germany and consequently Greece’s European lenders reject the debt relief option, although they signaled in the near past, that debt relief discussion would begin after the successful conclusion of Greek Program Review.
During the last days, especially after the WikiLeaks, Greeks seems to favor the solution of “the european Stability Mechanism to overtake the role of the IMF.”
PS “When the buffaloes fights against each other, the bill is being paid by the frogs.” I remember to have said this before. No surprise, this is still valid.
“Quite simply, in our opinion it is not legally possible (in the eurozone),” the chancellor said.
I wonder if bailing out banks that made bad investments in Greece was also legally possible in the eurozone because that is what partly happened effectively with the previous bailouts. If there were to be a debt relief then Merkel and the EU have some explaining to do to the EU taxpayers that served as collateral for these bailouts. That is one reason she doesn’t want debt relief. The other reason is that she wants to show she is still boss in Germany and in Europe although many question that. Keeping a ‘tough stance’ is a way to improve her image that was so severely damaged after she basically invited the whole world in.
The rapist’s defence – No means Yes or Maybe! Mrs M has to talk tough to appease the German voters, especially after the immigrant/refugee debacle. No doubt there will be some chicanery going on behind closed doors in the not too distant future…
Merkel and Lagarde are like a circus act or a comedy duo. The first one cuts up the onions, the other one cries. And when the public tires of the act, they reverse the roles to make us think that they’re doing something new and novel.
Fundamentally, nothing has changed with regards to Greece. The only thing that has changed is the strategy used by politicians and technocrats to manipulate public opinion and advance their own agenda.
As a point of fact, there is something fundamentally obscene in someone (Lagarde) who lives in the lap of luxury, pays no tax, and will retire early on a golden parachute telling ordinary people that they don’t work hard or long enough, that they make too much money and don’t pay enough taxes. Even more so when it comes from someone who will accept no responsibility or face any consequences for the repeated mistakes made by the organization she oversees.
I am just sick to deah of these two useless women. I am sorry to say, but the women who enter politics seem to be FAR worse than the men. I struggle to think of any female politician who did a good job — one or two outside of the developed world. Lagarde is especially obnoxious and totally unqualified for the post she holds.
it’s hard to be a woman in a competitive men’s world.
It’s much harder to be a civilised man in the competitive man’s world. Most women in politics use their gender to advantage, at the same time as behaving as badly or worse than men in politics. They deserve no sympathy, only condemnation.
It´s a Man´s Man´s World.
Men think more rational than women.
All asylum seekers invite to Germany, a Man would not come up with this idea.
Many civilised and compassionate men are supportive of inviting refugees into Europe: few of these men are in politics, because the behaviour and mentality of politicians is only one remove from criminals. The main difference is that politicians assemble in Parliaments, and criminals assemble in prisons.
It’s interesting to read this on a blog that was and still is struggling since 7 years against German anti-Greek campaigns, crazy enough as these media-lies are not seen as such by the same people who call the whole media liar-press and invent also their own “invitation”-lie. Not to forget that these lies were meant to produce pogroms but not against refugees.
Greece don,t need debt relief…Greece needs immigrants, many immigrants who coming in Greece and fix everything wrong in Greece . Forget Merkel, take immigrants, those hardworking people will pay the debt and pensions and everything. New, mmigrant made Greece will pay the debt with humanity and decency.
Do you think you are being funny? In one ignorant post you manage to insult both Greeks and refugees.
One year ago you’d have been telling us that in Greece were working 1 million illegals