German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday issued his own particular brand of “spoiler alert” hours before a closely watched Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, saying Greece can achieve a competitive economy once it implements the reforms envisioned in its bailout agreements.
Speaking a day after Matteo Renzi’s political rout from a decisive “no” vote in the Italian referendum and ahead of a meeting where Athens expects to be handed debt relief — even the short-term variety — Schaeuble said:
“I think for Greece it is realistic that they should carry out reforms to make themselves competitive. It’s about that, nothing more … For Greece it is a long, hard road (to rebuild confidence on the part of markets etc).”
According to Reuters, the powerful German FinMin made the comment when asked if it was realistic to demand that Greece post hefty primary budget surpluses for another decade beyond 2018.
