Athens/Berlin - Berlin is prepared to accept a Greek exit from the European common currency if the country's next government does not continue to adhere to austerity measures, a report said Sunday.
Both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble say they now see a Greek exit from the euro as bearable and even unavoidable if the radical leftwing Syriza party wins snap elections later this month and abandons planned cuts, Spiegel Online reported.
A German government spokesman would not confirm the report to dpa on Sunday, but said: “Greece has complied with its obligations in the past. The federal government expects Greece to continue to comply with its obligations.”
The Sunday edition of Greece's Kathimerini newspaper quoted Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos as saying Schaeuble had suggested Athens leave the euro in 2011, but had been persuaded to change his mind by the dangers a Greek exit would pose for the rest of the eurozone.
Since he understood the dangers of an exit, Schaeuble had worked tirelessly to keep Greece within the eurozone, Venizelos said.
Progress has been made since the height of the euro crisis, such as the creation of the 500-billion-euro (R7 trillion) European Stability Mechanism available to countries in financial crisis.
It is thought the fund has made an exit by other bailed out countries like Ireland and Portugal less likely.
Syriza, which is leading in opinion polls ahead of elections scheduled for January 25, has called for an end to the austerity programme demanded by Greece's international creditors (the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) and a massive write-down in the country's debts.
Greece is seeking to exit a 240-billion-euro international rescue plan, but the government and its creditors must agree on a final set of reforms before the terms of its bailout wind-down can be agreed. - Sapa-dpa