EU: German cabinet minister calls for Greek euro exit

The Telegraph ^ | 2/25/2012 | Richard Blackden, in Mexico City

[bruinbirdman]

Germany’s interior minister called for Greece to leave the eurozone on Saturday as hopes that the world’s richest countries would stump up more cash to help the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fight Europe’s debt crisis faded.

Becoming the first member of Germany’s cabinet to openly call for a Greek exit, Hans-Peter Friedrich told Der Spiegel magazine that Greece’s chances of restoring its financial health would be greater outside the euro.

“I’m not saying that Greece should be thrown out but rather to create incentives that it can’t say ‘no’ to,” he added.

His comments came as eurozone leaders faced calls to increase their own efforts before any more money is made available from the IMF. Fresh from agreeing a second €130bn (£110bn) bail-out for Greece, there were hopes that this weekend’s gathering of G20 finance ministers in Mexico City would achieve a deal on how to ramp up the IMF’s own European war chest by as much as $600bn (£378bn).

UK Treasury officials made it clear that any new deal with the IMF was now likely to be delayed until meetings in April. Eurozone leaders have been negotiating with the US, China and Japan to contribute more to the IMF to build a “financial firewall” that would shield the likes of the Spanish and Italian economies from any intensification of the region’s crisis.

Despite fears in Washington, Tokyo, Beijing that Europe still poses a real threat to the wider global economic recovery, they want to see Europe take further steps first. America’s opposition is fiercest, with the White House making clear it won’t contribute more to the IMF. “What we don’t want to see is the IMF substitute – and it really cannot substitute – for a stronger European response,” US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said.

Germany also raised doubts

[Navy Patriot]

Why can’t Germans just take some Greeks as slaves to work off the debt?

[cloudmountain]

The Germans would bribe the Greeks to leave.
I wonder what it would cost.

[allendale]

What German genius ever thought the EU was a good idea in the first place. It was apparent that after two generations of deficit spending to achieve a fax paux life style, countries such as Greece, Italy ,Spain and France had squandered capital and were carrying unsustainable debts. Now (just now?) the Germans are realizing that all the concocted financial gimmicks cannot correct the lunacy? Greece is a sideshow. Things will really get interesting when the party moves to Italy, Spain and France. They are even less likely than the Greeks to accept austerity. Goes without saying that the US is not far beyond. It would not be unreasonable for the Germans to shift their axis toward the boundless resources and potential of Russia. Western Europe is an economic and demographic nightmare.

[Lazlo in PA]

The EU is dead whether or not they know it yet. This is just the beginning of the process of ending it.