Merkel in Athens

WILL Angela Merkel's six-hour visit to Athens on Tuesday have had any effect on Greece's parlous economic situation or on the hostility towards Germany felt by a large number of Greek people? The 50'000 demonstrators who assembled to protest at her presence saw her only on television and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras received no promise from her of an easing of EU and IMF pressure on his government to maintain the punitive measures that have led to an unprecedented recession and hardship to millions of Greek citizens. Nonetheless Chancellor Merkel's decision to visit Greece was probably well-judged and brave. Despite the exceptional security measures in Athens there must have been a small chance that that some kind of attack on her would be attempted. As for words of understanding and encouragement to the Greek government and people she chose to speak of her own experience in East Germany of the struggle there to build administrative and fiscal structures to match those in West Germany. Whether her claim that she was not in Greece as a “taskmaster” but rather as a “partner, friend, fellow member of the EU and eurozone and member of NATO” will be widely accepted must, however, be open to doubt if only because of the pressure concurrently being placed on Greece to take further austerity measures before next tranche of $31.5 billion of rescue money can be released.