Merkel to visit Greece for the first time since 2014

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday travels to Athens for a two-day visit, her first since 2014 and four months after Greece emerged from the final bailout package.

Merkel

Merkel is due to meet Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the evening, with the Greek economy, migration, and the endgame in Athens’ long-running dispute with Skopje over the name Macedonia expected to be on their agenda.

Tsipras, ahead of the visit, described his relationship with Merkel over the past four years as trusting.

“We meant what we said; we never had the goal of taking the other one to the cleaner.

“The German leader was also coming to Athens because she considered the rescue of Greece from bankruptcy her success,” Tsipras said.

Merkel, who was a focal point of Greek anger over punishing austerity measures, acknowledged the nation’s hardship in an interview with the Athens daily Kathimerini.

“I am aware that recent years have been very hard on many in Greece. But with the conclusion of the third bailout last year (in August) Greece went a long way.

“It is an incentive to go forward,” she said, adding that the rough patch was unavoidable on the path to financial stability.

Over the eight years of austerity, the income of the average Greek dropped by around one-quarter; however the country is now finally able to raise money on the financial market.

On Friday, Merkel is scheduled to meet President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, have lunch with business representatives and a talk to opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The last time she visited, in 2014, Tsipras had not yet ascended to power.

The left-wing politician pushed through the bulk of unpopular reforms.

During a previous visit, in 2012, she was met by massive protests at her tough stance on the conditions of Greece’s international bailout.

Protests against her have been called again, while several parties and organisations announced demonstrations.

Greek eurosceptic party Laiki Enotita said Merkel stood for “wild austerity” leading to the “monumental destruction” of Greece. (dpa/NAN)