Greeks hope to take a ‘fiscal breath’

Faced with public debt accounting for 210% of the GDP, Greeks focussed on the stance of the next German government on EU fiscal policy.

There are fears that a “Jamaica government”, with the Ministry of Finance going into the hands of the Liberals, will insist on returning to a strict fiscal policy under the old Stability Pact.

The conservative government (New Democracy, EPP) has avoided taking an official position. Certainly, the defeat of the Christian Democrats was not perceived positively, considering that the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be one of the few right-wing heads of states in the EU Council.

On the contrary, the opposition leftist Syriza party expressed its satisfaction with the SPD victory. Similarly, Greek socialists chief Fofi Gennimata welcomed the news.

“Social democracy is coming back. A wind of new change is blowing in Europe. Congratulations and good luck to Olaf Scholz. Today is a better day for Germany and Europe. We look forward to working closely with our German comrades,” he said.

Overall, there are no high expectations for significant changes in German policy in the coming years.

Of particular importance is the relationship between Berlin and Ankara, dominated by the refugee issue.

In Athens, it is considered that Angela Merkel maintained a neutral, even tolerant, attitude towards Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aggressiveness against Greece.

However, Greece knows there are important trade links between Turkey and Germany, which will not change with a progressive government.

On a political level, a progressive coalition in Germany may affect Greek politics too.

For a long time, there has been discussion over the need for progressive parties to join forces and run against the ruling conservative party.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras has repeatedly made such a call to Greek socialists and leftist Diem25 led by Yanis Varoufakis.