“Greece has implemented many reforms and is on a good path,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday in an interview with Bild newspaper.
The most dramatic moment over the last four years was the dispute over the program for Greece in the summer of 2015 when the country had to close its banks, Schauble said.
“On that day we had to make a final decision, I talked to the Chancellor over the phone a dozen times,” he added.
Schaeuble claimed that “almost all European finance ministers agreed that it would be better for Greece to leave the European Union.”
He revealed that coalition partner Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), an economy minister at that time had also agreed on Grexit. “I was in agreement with Mr. Gabriel, too, before I left for Brussels,” he noted.
“Only later on, he demonstrated the opposite externally. In the end, Ms. Merkel had to weigh the pros and cons. She had to prioritize the overall responsibility for Europe. In retrospect, one can live well with the result. Greece has implemented many reforms and is on a good path” Schaeuble said.
Gabriel has not responded to Schaeuble’s allegations yet.
When Schaeuble says “Greece is on a good path”, he means reforms are implemented so that the country looks good on the accountants’ excels.
Schaeuble’s timing to praise Greece – a truly rare event – comes the day Greece opens an offer book for investors as the country finally attempts to return to the bond markets. For the first time, since 2014.
PS What is this now? Every key player (Varoufakis, Tsipras, Lafazanis, Schaeuble) in the Greek-lenders negotiations in 2015 decided to reveal the truth and nothing but the truth? I can understand that Schaeuble tries to undermine SPD ahead of the September elections. But why all these revelations in Greece? Are we heading into elections too and nobody know it?
Eventually there will be a Grexit, after the Euro becomes extinct. It is a shame that Greece will have wasted so many years believing in economists and politicians.