Chrysoloras, N., (2013), “Give Greece a break: what politicians need to tell German voters”, The Guardian, 5 September.
One of the most hotly debated issues in Germany in the runup to the elections is the future of Greece. But, unfortunately, what we mostly hear is the terrible noise of populism and there are hardly any voices of reason.
People have started throwing numbers around in the most irresponsible and incomprehensible fashion, without any serious evidence to support their claims: “Greece will need 10bn more euros,” says incumbent finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble; “Greece’s financing needs are 77bn,” responds Carsten Schneider, the opposition Social Democrat party’s spokesman on budget issues; “Greece should leave the eurozone and have its debt erased,” say the eurosceptics of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). And so on …