It was a good day for pedestrians in Athens. Several streets in the Greek capital were closed, leading to traffic jams in other parts of the city. Everyone knows who is the cause of this chaos. His name graced the front pages of the daily newspapers and rang out on the radio yesterday: Wolfgang Schäuble.
When the German finance minister arrived in Athens yesterday morning, he was met by high security measures.
As a precaution, the police banned "all outdoor meetings and demonstrations" throughout the day. Wolfgang Schäuble, after all, is not popular in Greece, given that many in the country see him as the author of the austerity program he imposed on their country and the cause of their suffering. He is, in short, an unwelcome guest.
Berlin has indicated that €100 million will help a €500 million fund aimed at providing affordable loans to small and medium-sized business owners in Greece.
But shortly after his arrival, Schäuble tried to lighten the mood by praising Greece's progress in reducing its debt and dealing with the economic crisis that has plagued the country for the past six years. Athens has made "big steps towards the consolidation of its economy," he told a press conference at the German-Greek Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Athens. These are difficult times for the Greeks, he said, but there is no other way.
Schäuble called on Athens to continue the process of privatization of state-owned companies and expressed his belief that the economy will soon begin to grow again. "We are working together" to achieve that goal, he said, although he warned that the crisis in the Eurozone is not over yet.
And, like any good guest, Schäuble brought gifts to his hosts, announcing that Germany would participate in the establishment of an investment fund in Greece. Berlin has indicated that €100m will help a €500m fund aimed at providing affordable loans to small and medium-sized business owners in Greece - a sector currently struggling to get funding from Greek banks.
However, Schäuble did not bring what Athens hoped for the most - a new debt write-off. Even before he boarded the plane to Athens, Schäuble tried to lower the expectations of the Greeks. In a short interview for a German radio, the finance minister said that "none of those who understand the situation are talking about additional debt reduction".
The Greek public, however, chose to largely ignore such rhetoric. Earlier this month, Greek Economy Minister Kostis Hazidakis told a German newspaper that he expects to write off part of the debt in the near future. And a similar position was repeated yesterday by the Minister of Finance Janis Sturnaras. "Now that we have brought the budget into balance, we expect new opportunities," Sturnaras told the online edition of the German weekly "Spiegel" on the sidelines of the meeting with Schäuble.
Wolfgang Scheible (PHOTO: Reuters)
Reactions in the Greek press regarding Schäuble's visit were mixed. The cover of the left-wing newspaper "Elefterotipia" illustrated the collapse of the Greek economy, caused by severe austerity measures. On the cover of "Avgija" it is written: "Hail Schäuble, we who are exhaling salute you". The conservative press, on the other hand, wrote more objectively about Schäuble's visit. The headline in "Katimerini" read: "Schäuble brings an investment fund".
The Greek parliament narrowly adopted a controversial austerity program on Wednesday evening, which includes laying off thousands of civil servants until the end of 2014. Violent demonstrations took place across the country to protest the newly adopted program.
Gallery
Bonus video:
