Between Mario Draghi and Wolfgang Schaeuble they are always sparks. Apparently the president of the European Central Bank and the German finance minister are unable to find a meeting point and express antithetical positions on how to deal with the Greek emergency.
The "casus belli" of the day is once again there Greece. The duel, this time at a distance, was opened this morning by the Berlin hawk who, after the Greek Parliament's OK with the reform plan imposed by last Monday's agreement, reiterated the position held over the last few weeks. According to Schaeuble in fact, a temporary exit from the euro “it would be the best way for Greece”. Furthermore, many economists seem to agree on the need to cut Athens' debt, the only way to allow the country to recover, but the German minister is of a completely different opinion: "A real debt cut - he underlined - is irreconcilable with membership of the monetary union”.
Despite this, next Friday in the Bundestag, Schaeuble will vote "with full conviction" on the bailout plan desired by the European Union.
The statements made by the German finance officer have certainly not gone unnoticed in the Community. In the afternoon, after the green light from the 28 Member States for the third tranche of aid to Greece, Mario Draghi he claimed that he did not want to comment on "the statements of a politician", only to then release some statements that highlight how unbridgeable the gap between the two is.
The Governor of the ECB not only reiterated that “For us Greece is and remains in the euro”, but he also defined “there is no doubt that Greece's debt should be relieved”, thus taking the path opened a few days ago by the US government and the International Monetary Fund. In addition, Frankfurt has decided to increase emergency liquidity (ELA), following the reforms on VAT and pensions passed by the Athens Parliament.
Today's clash comes a few days after the even tougher one that took place on 11 July in the very delicate Eurogroup called to decide the fate of Greece. In fact, according to rumors, when Mario Draghi was busy illustrating some issues concerning the Greek debt, an impatient Wolfgang Schäuble interrupted him by hissing "I'm not stupid», forcing Jeroem Dijssebloem to interrupt the meeting instantly. The Central Bank itself spoke of "an exchange of views" between Schaeuble and the Governor.
