Outspoken German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble referred to the Greek program and the country for a third straight day this week, given the increased scrutiny that Athens’ demand for immediate debt relief has received after the solid support expressed by outgoing US President Barack Obama.
“They (Greeks) have significantly higher social and pension benefits in relation to their GDP, as well as in relation to Germany,” Schaeuble said during a banking conference in Frankfurt on Friday.
Moreover, he again repeated that debt servicing is not a problem for Athens in the coming decade, along with the leitmotif that debt relief in the current phase will merely dampen enthusiasm by the government to proceed with reforms.
Although Obama entered “lame duck” mode after last week’s US presidential election, his popularity and the fact that he came out repeatedly in favor of debt relief – in tandem with structural reforms in Greece – during a very high-profile visit to Athens appeared to have turned up the pressure on Berlin.
Obama’s next stop after Athens, in fact, was to Berlin and a meeting with Merkel and NATO leaders.
