15 years have passed since Angela Merkel's first visit to our country, when she met with then Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. The meeting took place in a particularly warm atmosphere.
Addressing then the Greek Prime Minister, Costas Karamanlis, Merkel had said: "I will emphasize, once again, how important our economic relations are. You have a growth rate of 4%. This is just a dream for us".
ADVERTISINGSpecifically, A. Merkel's first visit to Greece was like today on July 20, 2007 and included a meal in Rafina.
As broadcast by APE-BE at the time:
"Mrs. Merkel described the bilateral relations and political friend Kostas Karamanlis as excellent indeed, while she spoke with warm words about the achievements of our country in the economy, saying:"now you have a 4% growth rate. This is just a dream for us".
The agenda of the two leaders included discussions on the Cyprus issue, the issue of Kosovo and Macedonia, the European reform treaty, Greece's potential interest in the "Eurofighter", but also the development of tourist relations, since as pointed out "our country is the second most popular travel destination destination of the Germans".
Furthermore, Mrs. Merkel advocated the independence of the European Central Bank, as otherwise, as she said, "the euro will be at stake".
The reports at the time spoke of a visit that also aimed to promote weapons systems, something that the Karamanlis government ultimately did not do and the relationship between the then Prime Minister and the Chancellor was led to a rupture. Mr. Karamanlis had promised the purchase of aircraft of European origin, but for after the elections. Many believed that the government at the time wanted to maintain the balance with France as well.
The relations between the two "frozen", with Merkel anyway - after the disclosure of the 2009 data - talking about an "internal issue of Greece", in very careful wording. It should be noted that Merkel and Karamanlis had good relations anyway, as they were connected to each other in the "Brussels Club" of the Christian Democratic parties , in the European People's Party.
However, as Handelsblatt wrote on May 10, 2010:
"On July 2, 2009, before an ECOFIN meeting in Brussels, a document by Spanish Commissioner Almunia was released with the prediction that the Greek fiscal deficit during the current year would even exceed 10% of GDP. However. , no one wanted to spoil Karamanlis's elections in October 2009. That is why, after the July Summit, not a single critical word was heard from Merkel and her conservative party partners in the other European governments.
After the electoral defeat of Karamanlis, the conservatives put on a big show for the new socialist Finance Minister, during the first meeting of ECOFIN and pretended to hear for the first time about the huge budget deficit of the Greeks. The memory of public opinion is short".
Tensions with Mrs. Merkel have officially begun to rise when the first effects of the crisis were seen and George Papandreou had just assumed the prime ministership of Greece, with the highlight of course being Cannes and Papandreou's "idea" of a referendum. The sequel is known.
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