Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
Well it is because the party that currently stands to get elected look like rejecting the austerity measures that were a condition of the bailout. It is Germany's business if this happens, they are entitled to not to have to throw good money after bad in order to prop up a unsustainable system in Greece.
The Greek people are being lied too when they are told they can reject those austerity measures without consequence. They probably don't care anymore but the German suggestion of a referendum is probably designed to make clear what they are voting for.
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I really don't think many Greek people are stupid enough to believe they can reject austerity without any consequences. It's up to the Greeks to vote for what they feel is the best way forward for Greece and take what consequences follow. Germany should not try to influence that by interfering in their internal affairs and suggesting a referendum. How would Merkel react to another state suggesting the German people be given a referendum on whether their country should continue to fund bailouts?
---------- Post added at 17:51 ---------- Previous post was at 17:41 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
The original reason was to tie France and Germany together in order to prevent another European war. It was about preventing German dominance, not enabling it. Unfortunately the supposed counterweight to Germany (France) is still a largely unreformed Socialist mess. Germany is the strongest economy in Europe and the single currency has been so inflexibly designed that it is always going to favour the strongest economy in the zone over the weaker. If France had been the strongest economy, then it would be France now sitting on a massive cash pile and getting pressurised to bail out the Greeks. But it's not. If you want to blame the Germans for anything, blame them for being efficient and hardworking.
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Well that's the official reasoning presented to us in the history books yes but to what extent it represents the whole truth isn't clear. It seems entirely possible to me that the Germans knew full well that France would never live up to its role in the 'partnership' thereby leaving the door wide open to German influence.
I don't blame the Germans for being successful and getting their way BTW. I blame the Eurocrats for either being naive/stupid enough to think their promised land was anything other than a mirage or being complicit in a huge deception designed to bring about a single German dominated state by hook or by crook.