The Times: ‘No new bailout unless Tsipras goes’
Source: AP
Greece will not get a cent in new eurozone bailout loans while
Alexis Tsipras and Yanis Varoufakis remain in power, because Germany
will block any such deal, one of Europe’s most influential politicians
has told The Times.
“Today there is the question of do we trust Tsipras and Varoufakis?
The answer is clear to all parties, no,” the senior German conservative
said.
He also lifted the lid on a European Union attempt to push Mr Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza out of power regardless of the outcome of the vote on July 5.
If Greece’s prime minister and finance minister remained in office, even after a “yes” vote in Sunday’s referendum, then Athens would stand no chance of a new bailout, he indicated.
Under the rules of the European Stability Mechanism, the euro’s bailout fund, the German parliament, or Bundestag, has a veto or blocking vote over any new program such as that requested by Greece at the 11th hour.
The senior German conservative said that Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and its Bavarian allies the Christian Social Union (CSU) would block any request made while the pair, described as “communists”, remained in power.
“In my party the CDU/CSU there would be a lot of colleagues who would vote ‘no’ if Varoufakis and Tsipras are asking. For sure. Because there is simply no trust any more. They say, I am not going to give taxpayers’ money to Greece without a reliable partner,” he said. Referring to Syriza, he added: “We need a reliable partner who wants to do the job.”
The EU’s plan is to back a “yes” vote strongly by posing it as an in/out question on membership of the euro rather than austerity measures and then, in the event of a victory, to oust Syriza after the expected resignation of Mr Tsipras.
“We will do everything to get a ‘yes’. Then we will need a new government, then we have to implement measures,” he said.
The politician revealed that the socialist Martin Schulz, the president of the European parliament, was involved in secret talks, possibly including Mr Tsipras — whom he sees as a moderate — to “split the Syriza movement”.
The aim was to create a “technical government” as a precondition for a new EU bailout, incorporating moderate MPs in Syriza to avoid new elections.
In the event of a “no” vote and Syriza continuing to hold the reins of power, the German conservative said, “it’s over” and Greece would have to leave the euro after defaulting on ECB loans on July 20. “We will talk about a humanitarian rescue program but not an additional [bailout],” he said.
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