“Prime minister Alexis Tsipras and, of course, [current finance minister] Euclid Tsakalotos, have completely changed the relationship with the European partners. Almost everything has been easier since . . . it’s a completely different situation,” outgoing Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said in an interview to Financial Times.
He said further that he never backed the idea of a Greek exit from the euro.
A Greek exit from the euro area, intensely speculated in 2015, would have been “really damaging” and a “huge mistake,” Dijsselbloem said
The former Dutch finance minister said that despite widespread talk about Berlin’s role in pushing a temporary Greek exit from the euro area, it was mainly countries of central and southeastern Europe that favored the idea.
“Behind the broad back of Germany were a number of countries lining up who simply said ‘We’re done. We don’t have any confidence. We don’t want to talk any more with the Greek government. We want to talk about Plan B’,” Dijsselbloem said.
Dijsselbloem can blame whoever he wants as Grexit-supporter. In the very end they all agreed with the German position.
Dijsselbloem is stepping back from the Eurogroup throne today, Friday.
He said that he wants to drink ouzo in Athens when the country exits the bailout program.
He will always be remembered as the mouthpiece of ex German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. His legacy will be the famous infamous statement South-Europeans spent the EU aid on alcohol and women. and the fact that he added a big ZERO to a formation that is claiming to be an institution although officially it is not.
Some will also remember Dijsselbloem’s threatening and coward whisper to Varoufakis’ ear short after SYRIZa won the elections in January 2015.
In essence Diesel-Bomb is saying that if one bents over and submits it’s always a lot easier. Isn’t that the kind of statement one should expect from a small time politician who claimed all Southern Europeans were drunks and womanizers. Good riddance to another clueless German bootlicker.
Well said Tintin and well said Yanis Varoufakis who also commented that it is natural for a Schaeuble puppet to praise the other Schaeuble cheerleaders duo Alexis and Euclid (by the way, I can never write the first name of this pitiful existence of a “finance minister” without feeling the need to apologise to the spirit of the great mathematician for the abuse of his name).
Anyway, the qualifications and the abilities of the ex Chairman of the Eurogroup are known to all (he is still seeking for a university degree by …correspondence) and are indicative of the quality of policies produced by that body…
Yes, they made it easier for Dijsselbloem, Schäuble, Merkel and Dragi to give Greece the shaft. It is now obvious that the country had nothing to lose in 2010 by leaving. Those that agree that Greece’s exit from the Euro would be a “huge mistake” are either the 0,1% or a bunch of cowards.