Former European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has criticized outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s reaction to Greece’s debt crisis, saying that her “hesitations” and “reluctance” undermined efforts to deal with the situation.
“I think her biggest failure was the reluctance she showed during the Greek crisis because of her hesitations and her reluctance, we were losing time. Greece could have been helped earlier,” Juncker told Euronews in an interview Thursday.
Juncker said he often clashed with Merkel about Greece because her own parliamentary group and the German media “did not respect the dignity of the Greek people.”
“I was telling her that Greece was different from the view she had on Greece,” he said.
Referring to former finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s proposal for a temporary exit of Greece from the eurozone, Juncker said Merkel never really shared that idea.
“But she never was denying the usefulness of that idea… She thought that this could lead us into troubled waters with Italy and some others,” he said.
What’s Angela Merkel’s biggest failure and achievement?
Former EU Commission president @JunckerEU reflects on the outgoing German chancellor’s European legacy and praises her leadership.
Watch more on #GlobalConversation: https://t.co/zsXFEooqnz pic.twitter.com/ejLJcej1t9
— euronews (@euronews) September 24, 2021
PS even my youngest cat – born in the first half of 2015 – can remember that Juncker-call-me-Pontius-Pilatus and “I’m here for the shrimps”-Jean-Claude…
despite demonstrating philellenism …
did everything that Merkel wanted and handed over to left-wing government a 12-volume encyclopedia in form of a third bailout agreement.
Dr. Varoufakis’ book, “Adults in the Room” seems to have articulated the facts rather eloquently.
These facts are as truly unbelievable. So was America bailing its banks instead of bailing its people that perhaps gave rise to America’s populist, twice impeached, corrupt and breathtakingly challenged leader who still seeks to destroy America’s democracy.
It is also truly unbelievable that a Turkey’s nationalistic and bellicose leader seeks to violate international laws in its attempts to pirate as member of NATO who buys arms from its adversaries
Why should Merkel come of any surprise?
Merkel was the good cop, in her good cop /bad cop theatrics with Wolfgang who cast Greece into a decade of depression (not just recession) by a senseless austerity that economists ridiculed. Stimulus would have fixed it at a tiny fraction of the cost and time but she was tight fisted in fear others would ask the same.
Horrified of contagion, so she also firewalled after the fact when Greece could have Brexit earlier for all the thanks and good it did. Then all of this underhanded last minute negotiations and multiplying the debt could have been avoided like the sadistic punishment to set example. Good riddance Angela, you should have stuck to chemistry than politics.
So little said, so little done, how many have even taken the effort to read Sr. Varoufakis’ exposure of this undemocratic and mean spirited unholy trinity of monsters that closed banks in protest to Greece’s democratic referendum. One that Britain was too powerful to fall victim given it did not adopt a version of a currency.
Good bye Merkel, don’t let the door you on the way out.
I think Juncker was totally useless BUT I don’t think he had any influence over what happened to Greece. The Eurogroup was virtually under the control of Schaeuble. Germany wanted the weaker economies in the Euro because it wanted a cheaper currency to enhance its export ambitions but it did not want exposure to any of the risk associated with it.
The mechanism of currency exchange rate changes is vital in regulating cross border trade. With intoduction of the Euro that mechanism no longer exists and wasn’t replaced with anything. That is a fundamental flaw in the design of the Euro. The ECB claims that Target 2 imbalances are just an accounting artefact but in reality they are hidden debt. Eventually it won’t be the weak countries that leave the Euro it will be Germany.
Funny he didn’t say al this when she was in power, Juncker is two face liar.
Despite being involved in every dirty deal from GLADIO onward, I give Juncker a pass among the troglodytes in Brussels. He has spoken out many times about Greece, for the record. An alcoholic and weak, he was the perfect choice for his puppet position, which carries with it almost nil executive power in reality. He could not stop Obama, nor the banksters, nor the IMF, nor the Germans (whose DM is the euro and who rule it). Broken, and with hands covered in crime, he is the ONLY one to have consistently shown remorse, mostly at times inconvenient to the masters who run the show. That’s right, he persists in popping out with truth – only to be laughed at of course.
ps He’s adopted greek adespota…
pps Yanis Varoufakis “Adults” is a careful whitewash serving YV only…
Juncker has furiously hit out at repeated allegations he has an alcohol problem. Hard to say but why repeatedly.
Junker was definitely furious at an inexperienced Tipras’ procrastination in 2015, that conflicts in the hugging above photo. I always thought that Junk as part of the EU water-boarders if he is seeking to clarify his past position today, I dunno.
Also, an equally idealistic Yanis, was at least solid enough to resign when Tpsiras violated Greece’s democratic referendum in a land where democracy was founded. (Referendums in Britain work because they can’t close their banks).
A green Tsipras championed this NO vote only to backstab a public desperate enough to still cling to ongoing his false cause that went on to patronize Greece’s adversaries. YV did not backstab, for all the unjust scathing that followed this colossal failure including his embarrassing claim that a no vote would open banks the next day. We will never know if they would have blinked, Tsipras caved, YV looked ahead to worst case, printing money, in defense of Greece. For this patriotic bravery, Yanis must be respected and applauded than backstabbed by the scared.
However, I disagree with YV being such an opinionated idealist but I highly respect his genius that goes far beyond a highly academic technical capacity as a solid, honest, and integritous politician whether things worked out ideally or not. He is evidently gifted and to expose of what went on behind closed doors should be eye opening. Just look how LeFarge left waving the British flag to get an idea of how these “Adults” behave.
I also disagree with YV wanting for Britain to stay or that his ideals of turning a rabid totalitarian baboon into a democratic kitten with his breathtakingly idealistic Diem25 nonsense. Otherwise I love this profoundly great man with a passion, like family, but he is by far too opinionated to agree with in everything. He may substantiate through his critical thinking skills or by being academically brilliant but I believe that he is socially naive, I do not know for certain… he also shares his religious beliefs compulsively, to an unsolicited and overly voluntary degree, like Tsipras, ironically in a predominantly theocratic nation which I found rather odd. Maybe these young adults are still just young 🙂
It was always about bailing out banks that made bad investments in Greece. Nothing else.