# taz.de -- Angela Merkel and the Greek crisis: Is the Chancellor invulnerable?
> Angela Merkel is prepared to push through a third aid package for Athens.
> The opposition accuses her of wanting to help the Greek banks, not its
> citizens.
(IMG) Bild: Yawning in the face of a crisis.
„The suffering of Merkel” was the Bild-Zeitung‘s headline at the beginning
of this week. These leading specialists in Greek-baiting threw some caustic
empathy in the Chancellor’s direction. „State bankruptcy! Unthinkable in
the ‚European-party’ CDU!” claimed the accompanying article. And the taz
headline read, „If the euro fails, Merkel fails.” Is that the case? At the
moment, it seems that even this crisis will leave Merkel – the European
politician par excellence – looking stronger than before.
Having said that, the quick succession of political events has been
alarming. Since the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated that his
citizens should vote in a referendum on what he considers an unacceptable
offer, Angela Merkel has seemed to be at a loss. Her helplessness did not
diminish when Greece defaulted on its repayments on Tuesday night, leaving
the Greeks without an offer to vote on. Helplessness is a state we have not
seen the Chancellor in to date. And before the results from Athens arrive
on Sunday, crisis diplomacy is running at full speed behind the scenes.
In the meantime, Merkel has to make sure that the Grand Coalition agrees to
all the wounds that are still to be inflicted on it.
Her way of doing this was by holding a speech in the Bundestag on
Wednesday. And by holding a joint press conference, like the one on Monday,
with Sigmar Gabriel, and thereby making her coalition partner jointly
responsible. And by approaching the factions in the Bundestag, and
explaining the trickiness of the situation.
She clearly has no plan to present. This much is clear: it is crucial for
Greece to stay in the euro, as the risk of contagion would be immense for
the whole of Europe if a Grexit takes place. Greece is already in a
currency crisis: the air on the stock exchanges is poisonous.
„This is the absolute worst-case scenario for Merkel,” says Frank
Schäffler. Up till 2013, he was an FDP MP in the Bundestag. His sharp
criticism of the euro aid package in 2010 put Schäffler in the spotlight.
The Union was simply not used to being contradicted by its coalition
partner at the time. In 2012, Schäffler foisted a petition onto his FDP
party members. He was a successful pest.
Today Schäffler runs a eurosceptical think tank. In response to the
question how it feels to have been right in the end, the 46-year-old
answers: „Yes, it’s true that I was right. But I never envisioned how
dramatic things would become.” Nonetheless, he doesn’t believe that Merkel,
whom he criticised at the time, will be damaged by events. It’s likely that
she will try and impose the crisis on the SPD, so that she can portray
herself as the pragmatic negotiator. Frank Schäffler is convinced: „She’ll
come off unscathed in Germany. She has a reputation for being a woman of
action.”
## Dissenters are not her problem
For days now, Angela Merkels’s mantra has been: „Solidarity and individual
responsibility.” The German government will stick together, is what this
means, but not unconditionally. Merkel’s message, which she has repeated
umpteen times, is directed at Athens. Here, in the Bundestag on Wednesday,
she doesn’t really have to convince her faction and coalitions partners
that the affair isn’t over yet. In her speech, she said: „We will now wait
for the referendum, Before then, no new aid package will be negotiated.”
So it’s official: Merkel is prepared to push through a „new” third aid
package for Greece. The dissenters from her own ranks – and there are
dozens of them – are not the problem. But her voters might be. A general
election is coming up in two years. It’s highly likely that Merkel will
stand again as candidate. It is therefore necessary with all means possible
to prevent voters associating the failure of the euro, probably even
tangible financial cuts, with the CDU in 2017.
For this reason, the slogan that she is circulating in the Bundestag is:
„Europe has become more robust.” It even grows during its crises. The SPD
Vice Chancellor stood by her in his speech. „Solidarity should never be
mistaken for chumminess,“ says Sigmar Gabriel, „instead, it’s responsible
action, for oneself and others.” And there it is again, the finger pointing
toward Athens.
## Eurosceptical FDP
Contradiction stems from FDP. The Liberals, praised by the Chancellor at
the last CDU party conference as „natural coalition partners”, are now
flexing their muscles as eurosceptics. Merkel, as FDP General Secretary
Nicola Beer said to the taz, waited too long for Tsipras to come round.
„That’s why she is partially responsible for this chaos. An explosion not
only awaits Europe, but also the Grand Coalition.” It’s likely that the FDP
will gain popularity precisely due to its criticism of the euro and Merkel.
Is Merkel invulnerable? At the moment she appears not to have been harmed
as the sober caretaker. It is palpable that she is at peace with herself
and to her decision not to pursue further talks in Athens. Even during
these hard-core days, she apparently sleeps well. At the peak of the
Ukraine crisis, she looked more hassled than now.
Merkel damaged? Lutz Meyer waves the suggestion away. The PR man, who
managed her election campaign in 2013, says that those who claim this
should explain why. „The euro will stay, Europe won’t fail, and Germany is
synonymous with the principle of serious financial management.” Perhaps
Greece should never have been accepted into the euro zone. „But that was a
decision made by Schröder’s government, not Frau Merkel.”
## Violent attacks from Gysi
In the Bundestag on Wednesday, recriminations were nevertheless made.
Gregor Gysi, Faction Leader of die Linke, launched a violent attack on the
Chancellor. „The way you praise yourself is completely disgraceful,” he
called out to Merkel. Troika’s aid packages had only helped the Greek
banks, not its citizens. „One soup kitchen after the other – is that your
vision of Europe? Your complicity in this is huge.” At bottom, he said,
Merkel was interested in destroying the left-wing government in Athens.
Angry protests from the CDU ranks promptly followed. It was visible and
audible to all that this faction will follow Merkel everywhere.
Translation: Lucy Renner Jones
2 Jul 2015
## AUTOREN
(DIR) Anja Maier
## TAGS
(DIR) taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
(DIR) taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
(DIR) taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
(DIR) taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
(DIR) taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
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