Austria's Faymann calls for an end to austerity in Greece, warns against doom-mongering

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann on Monday called for an end to the doom-mongering about Greece, in an exclusive interview with the ANA-MPA shortly before his visit to Athens, while saying that extreme austerity should stop in order to build a medium-term prospect that restored hope to the Greeks.

Κωνσταντίνος Σκορδούλης

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According to the German Chancellor, who is due in Athens on Tuesday, Greece's exit from the eurozone would be the worst of all possible solutions and he warned of the dangers of "speculating" on a so-called 'Grexit'.

The Austrian Chancellor said he was absolutely convinced that there should be a stop to what was happening at present and the tendency for the discussion on Greece to gravitate more and more frequently to possible disasters when what was needed were medium-term solutions. He said such a solution might be a five-year plan, on which Faymann appeared convinced there could be an agreement on fundamentals, the most important being to give people hope once more.

He also noted that extreme austerity policies cannot continue and Greece must be given a chance to pay off its debts, adding that he supports the Greek government's plans to bring money into state coffers by fight corruption.
In his view, a reasonable level of austerity was useful but extreme austerity destroyed the growth that was essential and the right stimulus was now needed, with investment in jobs and the economy. Given that real wages in Greece had fallen by 25 pct since 2010 and child mortality had increased 40 pct since 2008, the Greek government's desire to change course was completely understandable, he added.

"Greece has now become a reason to examine extreme austerity policy in great detail and in Greece we have an example that acts as a warning about what will happen when someone imposes only austerity. In other words, there are always more unemployed, debt increases, as does the risk of poverty," he said.

Faymann stressed that the effort to increase solidarity and social welfare in Europe can only be achieved through joint action, highlighting initiatives such as a tax on financial transactions in which Austria has played a leading role.
"If we start putting our individual interests before the interests of the whole, then Europe will not work," he underlined.

While in Athens, Faymann is expected to have talks with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, as well as visiting welfare facilities in the country to witness the situation at first hand.