Schäuble undermines Greek deal

By Zeke Turner

The German finance minister splits publicly with Chancellor Angela Merkel for the first time.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble cast doubt Tuesday on Europe’s latest rescue plan for Greece, claiming that many Germans would still prefer a ‘Grexit.’
Schäuble’s extraordinary comments signal a rift within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government over whether to continue to extend aid. The comments are particularly notable because Schäuble was for the first time publicly distancing himself from Merkel, who fought for the agreement reached Monday after a 17-hour negotiating session.

In the past, Schäuble has disagreed with Merkel in private but toed the chancellor’s line in public.
“There are many people, also in the German federal government, that are pretty well convinced that (a Grexit) would be a much better solution for Greece and the Greek people,” Schäuble told reporters in Brussels. “But it’s something that only they can do themselves.”
His resistance will complicate Merkel’s effort to win her party’s backing for a third bailout when the Bundestag votes on the deal, which could be later this week if the Greek parliament backs Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Schäuble is an influential figure within Merkel’s Christian Democratic parliamentary group and without his blessing, many conservative MP’s are unlikely to vote in favor of another rescue.
Schäuble came in for sharp criticism last weekend, especially in the Greek media but also from other EU policymakers, for pushing for the inclusion of a clause in the Greek deal providing the option of a temporary Greek exit from the eurozone if no deal were reached.
The proposal was denounced as “degrading” for treating Greece like a miscreant child rather than an equal member of the currency union.

“If Greece wants to do it, the €50 billion is not out of reach.”

It was excised from the final text during leaders’ negotiations, where the combative German minister stepped aside and his more emollient chancellor negotiated through a stormy overnight session to keep Greece in the monetary union.
Schäuble justified his actions Tuesday, saying the controversial proposal had full backing in Berlin.
“I just want to say … that I didn’t make any proposals that weren’t agreed upon inside the federal government and indeed, in terms of the substance and formulation,” he told reporters.
Schäuble was a dominant presence during the last-ditch talks among eurozone finance ministers Saturday and Sunday, which presented a document for discussion at the summit which began Sunday. The deal that emerged around dawn Monday forces leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to go back on many of the anti-austerity promises that got him elected in January.
The German minister also insisted on the ambitious €50 billion privatization target for Greece — which Athens called unrealistic and “from another planet.”
“They can create assets, they can create assets!” Schäuble told reporters. “If Greece wants to do it, the €50 billion is not out of reach.”
Other finance ministers, including France’s Michel Sapin, stayed on hand for consultation with their leaders during the overnight emergency summit, but the German minister was resting in his hotel.
“Why would Schäuble be there? It was Merkel’s night,” said one EU official.
The minister himself agreed, telling reporters Tuesday: “Nobody can take the pressure to make decisions away from the person who carries the weight of the office of the chancellor.”