By Erik Kirschbaum
BERLIN, May 19 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel
asked Greek President Karolos Papoulias what he thought of the
idea of holding a referendum on Greek membership in the euro but
did not push it, a journalist who said he overheard their
conversation wrote on Saturday.
A Greek government spokesman said Merkel raised the idea in
a telephone call on Friday but Berlin swiftly denied that.
The incident reignited anti-Merkel sentiment in debt-laden
Greece where many accuse the German leader of exacerbating the
crisis by being slow to act and then demanding austerity
measures that are too tough.
A Merkel spokeswoman said on Saturday there was “no truth to
reports” the German leader urged Greece to hold a referendum but
declined to give details of what had been discussed.
Paul Ronzheimer, a reporter with Germany’s Bild newspaper,
wrote on Saturday that he was in the same room as Papoulias in
Athens just as he took the call from Merkel.
Ronzheimer said he heard Papoulias speaking fluent German to
Merkel as they discussed the idea. He did not specify if he had
overheard Merkel’s side of the conversation as well.
“She wanted to talk to him about a possible referendum on
the euro – the idea came up a few days ago from a meeting of
European Union finance ministers,” wrote Ronzheimer, who was
accompanying European Parliament President Martin Schulz to the
meeting with Papoulias, in a report published on Saturday.
“Merkel wanted to know what Papoulias thought of the idea –
he rejected it,” the Bild journalist wrote.
German officials have said Merkel conveyed her hope for a
functioning government in Greece after repeat elections on June
17. Germany is the largest single contributor to the Greek
rescue efforts.
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tsiodras said after the
call that Merkel had specifically raised the idea of Greece
holding a referendum on its euro zone membership next month.
“(Merkel) relayed to the president thoughts about holding a
referendum in parallel with the elections on the question
whether Greek citizens wish to remain in the euro zone,” he
said.
That has triggered fresh Greek criticism of Merkel who had
already been caricatured in some Greek media wearing Nazi
uniform. The latest controversy was splashed across the front
pages of Greek newspapers.
The centre-right daily Eleftheros Typos ran the headline:
“THE MERKEL BOMB: Unprecedented political intervention dynamites
the climate”.
But Greece’s interim prime minister, Panagiotis Pikrammenos,
tried to defuse the controversy on Saturday and said he
considered the matter closed. “The issue was exhausted
yesterday,” Pikrammenos told reporters.
