When Wolfgang Schäuble proposed that Greece should postpone its elections as a condition for further help, I knew that the game would soon be up. We are at the point where success is no longer compatible with democracy. The German finance minister wants to prevent a “wrong” democratic choice. Similar to this is the suggestion to let the elections go ahead, but to have a grand coalition irrespective of the outcome. The eurozone wants to impose its choice of government on Greece – the eurozone’s first colony.
I understand Mr Schäuble’s dilemma. He has a fiduciary duty to his parliament and is being asked to sign off on a programme that he doubts will work. Releasing the funds before an election is risky. What is to stop a new Greek government and a new parliament from unilaterally changing the agreement?
Greece has a poor record of implementing policies it has agreed to. The mistrust is understandable. But to overcome this, the eurozone is seeking assurances that are unbelievably extreme.