As Greece’s leftist government try and edge closer to a crucial deal with creditors, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday partially dampened hopes that negotiations will soon conclude, saying talking were going too slowly.
Reuters quotes two participants in a meeting of CDU politicians as saying that Schaeuble first praised the Greek side for progress in “sub-areas”, although he added that overall negotiations were slow and that there was no breakthrough yet.
The report added that the German FinMin said discussions revolved around Athens fulfillment of the current bailout package, “and that there was no need to speculate about a Plan B”.
A third participant quoted Schaeuble as saying: “We know that a large part of the Greek population is suffering, but the Greek government doesn’t see yet what needs to be done to end this suffering.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel may give a televised address to boost an argument for extending more aid to Greece, a bid to preclude a backlash from her Bundestag deputies.
The news agency said Merkel would give such an address after the SYRIZA government and creditors agree on a deal with “conditions she deems strong enough to sell to parliament and the German public”, Bloomberg quotes German government officials as saying.
Back in Athens on Tuesday, Greek FinMin Yanis Varoufakis took to his beloved Twitter to chide the political opposition for its perceived resistance to his government’s proposals for VAT rates – a demand by creditors.
“The domestic troika has rejected our proposals for VAT. The Brussels Group however will discuss them tomorrow (Wed.) and Thursday in Brussels!!!”, he said, using an epithet that relates to one of his government’s biggest achievements since it assumed power: changing “troika” to the “institutions”.
