German Interference in Greek Elections

World weighs in on Greeks' voting options

As international pressure grew on Friday for Greece to honor its commitments to its foreign creditors, political parties responded sharply to perceived attempts to interfere in domestic politics while European leaders heading to Mexico for the G20 summit were said to have Sunday’s Greek elections in mind.

Ekathimerini,

26 April, 2012

European Commission spokeswoman Pia Hansen told reporters in Brussels that senior EU officials would issue a statement on the election result on Sunday. Sources said an emergency session of eurozone finance ministers would likely be called after the elections.

Meanwhile, senior US Treasury Department official Lael Brainard sought to strike a positive tone, noting that “everyone is prepared, in the wake of elections in Greece, to work together to make sure that there is a path forward that is sustainable for Greece and bolsters confidence more broadly.”

The developments came a few hours after a report by the Financial Times suggested that EU leaders may soften some of the terms of Greece’s debt deal. Another report, by the FT’s German edition -- proposing that Greeks vote for New Democracy as the best of a bad bunch to avert a Greek eurozone exit -- caused a political storm.

“Dear Greeks, vote courageously for reforms instead of angrily against the necessary, painful structural changes,” read the editorial, which was published in Greek and German. “Resist the demagoguery of Alexis Tsipras,” it added, referring to the leader of the leftist party which rejects the bailout.

SYRIZA condemned the editorial as “a coarse and unprecedented intervention.”

ND, which co-signed the deal but now wants a renegotiation, reacted sharply too. “We do not want orders. We do not want provocation and manipulation,” said spokesman Yiannis Michelakis.

Socialist PASOK said the article was “offensive for the Greek people.”

Pressed for Germany’s official line on the Greek elections, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “The chancellor does not give voting advice to neighboring and friendly countries.”

Berlin’s established stance -- for the strict implementation of reforms -- was reiterated by Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann in an interview with Kathimerini and three other newspapers.

He said the new government would be “bound by existing agreements” and that if it “opted out,” further aid would be in jeopardy.

The original Financial Times article (in Greek)

Σύσταση προς τους ψηφοφόρους - Η Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) και η πλειοψηφία των Ελλήνων έχουν ένα κοινό συμφέρον: Η χώρα σας πρέπει να παραμείνει στο ευρώ. Την Κυριακή γίνονται ιστορικές εκλογές, οι οποίες θα είναι καθοριστικές ακριβώς επ’ αυτού, αλλά και για το μέλλον της Ευρωπαϊκής Νομισματικής Ένωσης. Γι’ αυτό η FTD κάνει σήμερα κατ’ εξαίρεση μία σύσταση στους Έλληνες ψηφοφόρους, κάτι που συνηθίζει πριν τις εκλογές για το Ομοσπονδιακό Κοινοβούλιο και για το Ευρωκοινοβούλιο. Αγαπητές Ελληνίδες, αγαπητοί Έλληνες, φροντίστε για ξεκάθαρες πολιτικές συνθήκες. Ψηφίστε θαρραλέα υπέρ της μεταρρυθμιστικής πορείας και όχι οργισμένα κατά της αναγκαίας και επίπονης αναδιάρθρωσης. Μόνο με τα κόμματα που αποδέχονται τους όρους των διεθνών χρηματοδοτών, η χώρα σας θα μπορέσει να παραμείνει στο ευρώ. Αντισταθείτε στη δημαγωγία του Αλέξη Τσίπρα και του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ. Μην εμπιστεύεστε τις υποσχέσεις τους, ότι δηλαδή είναι δυνατή η χωρίς συνέπειες καταγγελία όλων των συμφωνιών. Η χώρα σας έχει επιτέλους ανάγκη από ένα κράτος που λειτουργεί. Για την ομαλή διακυβέρνησή της συνιστούμε τη Νέα Δημοκρατία, κάτι που κάνουμε με βαριά καρδιά. Η Νέα Δημοκρατία άσκησε επί δεκαετίες λάθος πολιτική και είναι συνυπεύθυνη για τη σημερινή μιζέρια. Παρ’ όλα αυτά η καλύτερη επιλογή για τη χώρα σας θα ήταν μία κυβέρνηση συνασπισμού με αρχηγό τον Αντώνη Σαμαρά και όχι τον Αλέξη Τσίπρα, ο οποίος θέλει να γυρίσει πίσω τον τροχό της ιστορίας και σας βαυκαλίζει με έναν κόσμο που είναι εκτός πραγματικότητας.

Translated into English:

“Recommendation to the voters - The Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) and the majority of Greeks have a common interest: Your country must remain in the euro. On Sunday elections are historic, which is crucial precisely on this, but for the future of European Monetary Union. For this FTD is now doing exceptionally a recommendation to Greek voters, something that gets used before the elections to the Bundestag and the European Parliament. Dear Greeks, Greeks dear, be sure to clear political conditions. Vote for courageous reform process, not angrily against the necessary and painful restructuring. Only parties who accept the terms of international donors, the country will be able to remain in the euro. Resist the demagogy of Alexis Tsipras and SYRIZA. Do not trust their promises, that is possible without consequences termination of all agreements. The country has finally you need a rule that works. For the smooth governance recommend New Republic, which are dealing with a heavy heart. The New Republic brought the wrong policy for decades and is partly responsible for today's misery. However the best option for your country would be a coalition government led by Antonis Samaras, not Alexis Tsipras, who wants to turn back the wheel of history and we delude ourselves with a world that is unrealistic.”