Philipp Missfelder, foreign policy spokesman the ruling CDU/CSU parliamentary group says there is a worry in Germany about a shift to populist movements in Europe that are “very bad for Europe and for the euro”.
“This kind of protest is not a surprise, people are unhappy about the austerity measures, not only in Greece but also in countries like Italy. But I think Syriza shouldn’t expect Germany to renegotiate with the programmes. They have to stick with what the former government has promised,” he said.
However, he said that if Greek politicians did want to negotiate, they would have to do so with the troika. “We are not in a position to negotiate,” he said, adding that Germany did not want to risk a “Grexit” and would try to avoid it.
While a lot of people in Germany are worried about the current development, he added: “Germans trust the government and they trust Angela Merkel and believe she has done the right thing...It was always crystal clear that without political reforms, it would always be complicated and there is a lot of homework to do for all of Europe, but the euro is one of the greatest achievements we’ve had in Germany.”
