Wolfgang Schaeuble sternly defended Berlin’s stance vis-a-vis the Greek crisis, which culminated in a third memorandum in the summer of 2015, speaking to FT ahead of his 113rd and last Eurogroup meeting.
The influential German politician is set to step down as finance minister to assume the presidency of the Bundestag.
FT quoted Schaeuble as saying that his goal was not to impose austerity on the Eurozone, which was especially biting in Greece’s case, but to build a credible policy leading to a boost in confidence in the common currency area and growth.
In terms of Greece, specifically, he reiterated that he felt vindicated by the results of reforms implemented by successive governments in the country – last and current one being a leftist-rightist coalition that was elected on a virulent anti-austerity, anti-bailout campaign plank.
He also admitted that he had a leading role in the debate over whether crisis-bedeviled Greece should take a “time out” from the euro area, although a rejection by Greek leadership of such a prospect eventually gave way to a “very difficult” solution that remained: reforms.
