Friday morning, the sun rose at 6:10 am in Greece. The meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Riga had ended without effective result for a comprehensive solution to Greek debt problem. However the earth kept rotating as did the eurozone around the German-French Axis.
After the two-hour meeting that ended at 1 pm in the morning, Angela Merkel said:
“It was a friendly and constructive exchange but it is clear that work has to be done. Germany and France can answer Greece’s questions and help her.”
Alexis Tsipras declared:
“I am optimistic we can reach a sustainable and viable solution without the mistakes of the past and that Greece will come back … [to] growth”.
Greece was hoping very much for Germany’s intervention to the Troika-Institutions and a “political decision” for the Greek problem.
As for Francois Hollande… well.. he was sitting in front of his tiny round table a little aside from Merkel and Tsipras, pretending to be an important and integral part of the constructive dialogue between the two. Yet his stunning distanced face expression may suggest that he could have been very well replaced by a decorative and opulent flower pot. But at the end, he allegedly managed to escape the net of a longstanding hibernation and he agreed with Merkel to issue a joint statement that said:
“It was agreed that the talks between the Greek government and the institutions will be continued.”
Friday morning, Merkel and Tsipras sat next to each other when the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, Latvia, started.
I saw a short video where Merkel and Tsipras were chatting and laughing in a relaxed atmosphere despite the long white night.
As for Hollande… well… he had nothing new to report and remained backstage. He had successfully fulfilled his mission around midnight.
But it was time for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to make one of his funny fancy appearances. He approached Alexis Tsipras and stuck his tie on Tsipras’ chest.
When SYRIZA came into power, Tsipras had hinted that he would not wear a tie until an agreement with creditors is reached.
Friday noon, Greek media wonder whether Juncker tried to tie Greece in the euro zone or whether an agreement was closer than it seemed to be.
Speaking to German Wirtschaftswoche, the EC President had said that
“Greece must stay in the euro zone.”
The sun is scheduled to set at 8:33 pm, Friday evening and rise again Saturday morning.
*Tsipras’, Merkel’s quotations and joint GER-FRA statement via Euobserver
BTW: I think Merkel’s tailor changed the buttons on Chancellor’s old yellow jacket just to make it seem “new”.
…”could have been very well replaced by a decorative and opulent flower pot”…
WOW! He does look like he is thinking about some bodily function that has gone terribly wrong.