The Observer view on Greece, bailouts and the euro | Editorial
Wolfgang Schiuble, Germany's finance minister, says that the radical left party Syriza will have some difficulty selling what is seen in some circles as Greek climbdown during Friday's cliffhanger negotiations that tried to put an to end austerity. Elected on an impossible mandate to renegotiate the country's tough bailout terms and stay in the euro, Syriza now finds itself recommitting to austerity as the price of getting crucial loans extended for four months. Without them, Greek banks would have collapsed. Mr Schiuble seems almost happy that the tieless Syriza leaders, shamelessly talking about reparations for the second world war, have had to confront "reality".
Meanwhile Britain's army of Eurosceptics have had a field day. If the negotiations had gone wrong, as many predicted, and Greece went on to leave the euro and restore the drachma then it would be the best vindication yet that Eurosceptic Britain was right. The eurozone, already accused of being the single most important, if not the only cause of Europe's economic plight, would be exposed as teetering on collapse. And if instead Greece managed some compromise deal, then it would be a slap in the face for democracy. Greek voters would have been denied what they had voted for. The EU stands accused, variously, of denying democracy and tethering a country to self-defeating austerity.
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