Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Germans say euro zone may have to expel Greece: poll
Reuters ^ | February 14, 2010 | Madeline Chambers

Posted on 02/14/2010 9:00:32 AM PST by UAConservative

BERLIN (Reuters) - A majority of Germans want debt-ridden Greece to be thrown out of the euro zone if necessary and more than two-thirds oppose handing Athens billions of euros in credit, a poll published on Sunday showed.

Vocal opposition to aid for Greece from members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition also grew at the weekend with several senior politicians expressing skepticism, especially as Germany's own recovery is fragile.

The Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed 53 percent of Germans asked said the European Union should, if necessary, expel Greece from the euro zone.

Athens has struggled to convince investors it is tackling its debt crisis and markets are nervous about a default.

EU leaders discussed the issue last week and offered words of support but failed to outline concrete steps, further unsettling markets. Euro zone finance ministers are expected to discuss Greece again on Monday and Tuesday.

Merkel has adopted a cautious stance on support, saying while Greece will not be left on its own, it is up to Athens to sort out its own problems.

The poll also showed 67 percent of Germans did not want Germany and other EU states to give billions of euros in credit to Greece.

"If we start now, where do we stop?" Michael Fuchs, deputy head of Merkel's conservatives in parliament, told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"I can't explain to people on unemployment benefit that they won't get a cent more but Greeks can draw a pension at 63."

In her first term, Merkel raised Germany's retirement age to 67 from 65 in an effort to rein in the deficit to meet EU goals.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Germany; Government
KEYWORDS: debt; eurozone; greece; greekbailout; merkel
Sounds like the people of Germany are getting tired of the bailouts and deficits too.
1 posted on 02/14/2010 9:00:32 AM PST by UAConservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

I’m no economist, but I have been to Greece and I saw this one coming before the even let Greeece in.


2 posted on 02/14/2010 9:03:29 AM PST by kabumpo (Kabumpo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

Hmmm...a sovereignty-stealing collection of collectivist, fascist NWO states wants to eject you...and the downside is...?


3 posted on 02/14/2010 9:04:02 AM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

The squeaky wheel gets the Greece?


4 posted on 02/14/2010 9:04:49 AM PST by James C. Bennett
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative
someone needs to explain the ‘they're too big to fail’ concept to the Germans /s
5 posted on 02/14/2010 9:04:57 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

Shoot, half the time they’re trying to rope states in without regard to the will of the people in those states. Witness the rerun elections if EU entry loses, but never if it wins, sleight of hand to avoid or rig those elections, etc.


6 posted on 02/14/2010 9:05:33 AM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

Mark this one down in history as the beginning of the fracturing of the EU.


7 posted on 02/14/2010 9:10:27 AM PST by OCCASparky (Obama--Playing a West Wing fantasy in a '24' world.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OCCASparky
Mark this one down in history as the beginning of the fracturing of the EU.

Can you imagine the USA kicking out a state?

On second thought, that might not be a bad idea...

8 posted on 02/14/2010 9:25:45 AM PST by SteamShovel (When hope trumps reality, there is no hope at all.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Still Thinking
Hmmm...a sovereignty-stealing collection of collectivist, fascist NWO states wants to eject you...and the downside is...?

Because you (Greece) are worse than they are. In fact, you led the way into this disaster and now THEY are turning their backs on you. Now the Communists/Socialists are wondering how in the world they could have ever trusted each other?

9 posted on 02/14/2010 9:31:54 AM PST by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

Greece has 10.7 million people (comparable to MI, OH, PA) but only 15,000 people claim more than 100,000 euros in income (ha ha). Tax evasion is rampant in Greece and raising taxes will only accelerate capital flight and under-reporting of income which results in even greater deficits. The only option is spending cuts.
I’m not even sure that in a country like Greece where corruption and distrust of government reign that tax cuts would actually spur economic growth. The wealth producers could never trust a “Banana republic” country with such a history of political risk. Greece has poisoned the well so long that even well reasoned policies may not work. It takes time to repair a bad reputation.
Good luck.


10 posted on 02/14/2010 10:00:16 AM PST by grumpygresh (Democrats delenda est)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SteamShovel

Now stop teasing us....


11 posted on 02/14/2010 10:01:34 AM PST by newfreep (Palin/DeMint 2012 - Bolton: Secy of State)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: OCCASparky

No way man.
This E.U. thing is going to propel Germany to world leadership.
They will dominate the e.u.
And I’m tall dark and handsome and wear size 16 shoes.

Least that’s the line they were feeding us about 8 years ago,


12 posted on 02/14/2010 10:03:27 AM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO) Obammy is little more than a quota boy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SteamShovel

Start with California, Michigan, and Massachusetts.


13 posted on 02/14/2010 10:06:42 AM PST by OCCASparky (Obama--Playing a West Wing fantasy in a '24' world.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

International Bankster’s Euro Trojan Horse meet the Greeks.

LOL

W


14 posted on 02/14/2010 10:11:23 AM PST by WLR (Remember 911 Remember 91 Iran delinda est.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

The krauts deserve it. During he formation of the EU, they were the most pushy of all the nations to include Greece and Spain, both socialist, lazy hotbeds. Historically, they never had a problem ripping on their former WW2 territories.


15 posted on 02/14/2010 10:31:22 AM PST by max americana
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OCCASparky

It will go either one way or the other. Either it will split, or they will not only fill the Grecian begging Urn, but will also further centralise powers to ‘stop this happening again’. Merely ignoring it will not work - Greece cannot remedy her economy directly, as she does not have an economy. And the ‘austerity measures’ that could save her will not be taken as she knows her teutonic ‘partners’ will bail her out in the end.

I think that the bail out will occur, and the Euro will survive for now, but opinion in Northern Europe on the EU will sour further. Ireland for instance was one of the first Countries to enter recession, but has cut spending drastically to cope. Why did they bother? It just means more money for Spain, Greece etc. who act like international trailer trash.

Northern Europeans see the EU as a way to avoid future war between European states, a way to compete with the big boys on the World stage etc. Mediterraneans see it as an international social security scheme.


16 posted on 02/14/2010 10:35:24 AM PST by Hatter6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative
German leaders don't care what Germans think of the EU. Germans voted again and again against joining the EU, but Kohl et al did it anyway.
17 posted on 02/14/2010 11:13:14 AM PST by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: grumpygresh

You don’t get it..

Greek “Communist” Politicians are more conservative than the US Democratic Party Leadership.

The Greek people unlike ourselves just do not obey their Elected and Appointed Officials when they pass any laws beyond those covered by the basic 10 Commandments.

Neither are the majority of Greek police willing to enforce them (Wouldn’t that be nice here?).

Oh and don’t be one of the 175,000 remaining Muslims in Greece and get caught breaking the law or trying to intimidate anyone.. The Greek Police are very free in their application of the NightStick to the backsides of Big Mouthed Muslims.. who cannot hide as all Greeks are required to state their Religion on their ID Card (also unlike the rest of the EU).

When it comes to money Greeks figure they earned it they keep it and they do. (In their matresses).

The Greeks simply feel no guilt when they ignore what they believe are stupid laws.

For Example:

Only “Sporting Arms” are allowed in Greece by law and the Greek Police in the Pelloponese are very strict.. Seeing to it that the MP5s and Berretta Machine Pistols that appear at quite a few traditional celebrations like weddings (don’t ask, I have no idea why shooting guns in the air is good thing).. Anyway the police see to it they are put back into the house before the wine flows too freely.

Even the German Army gave up trying to disarm the Greeks in WWII (When you start out exicuting 10 Greeks at random for the death of any German Soldier.. and that number reaches 1000 per German Soldier and Germans still wind up dead in the morning ... you know you have a problem. (This did stop for a time after the Greek Patriarch realized he was running out of Greeks and threatened to excommunicate anyone who killed a German Soldier.)

Until just reciently when it has been strongly discourged Turkish Soldiers on contested Islands woke up dead at the hands of Greek Officers who took it as a matter of honor to singly enter Turkish Muslim Occupied Greek Islands and relieve their occupiers of the ears (Ears used to be on the walls behind their desks.)

Greece stuck it to the EU Banksters and their Euro as the EU Banksters try to force Greece and many other small nations into perpetual financial bondage.

Just how is that as a bad thing?

The same International Financiers have done the very same thing to the US Dollar and Economy.. IMO the problem is Fiat Money, Banksters and corrupt politicians are an Unholy Trinity.

Messy as it may be the Greeks are simply in the vangard of the rebellion.

“But their economy is a mess”

Our economy is a mess what’s the difference? (Less of a mess?)

Greeks know what poor means and what hungry means.. 3 million starved to death at the end of WWII.
(The Greeks can feed themselves and will not starve over this our “Urban Poor” will be rioting and starving)

IMO The people not the elite of this world must return to a gold standard otherwise the Banksters and International Financiers will be able to forever move thru the world like locusts eating the substance of one land then the next..

The same core of Banksters and International Financiers are responsible for the economic crisis across the world.. They want to break all of us to the bit of Economic Slavery.

Will you let them?

The Greeks have answered... They would rather be “poor” than economic slaves... no real suprise now is there?

From what I see of the American People we are not far behind.. and thats a good thing.. We by nature will be less messy about it.. but the game is on.. and those in Power Party irrispective know it and tremble.

W


18 posted on 02/15/2010 6:28:42 AM PST by WLR (Remember 911 Remember 91 Iran delinda est.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: UAConservative

Hey, Can we do this with California?


19 posted on 02/15/2010 6:31:21 AM PST by GonzoGOP (There are millions of paranoid people in the world and they are all out to get me.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson