Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance dismissed speculation in German media yesterday that German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble was considering resignation over differences of opinion with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the issue of Greece.
Germany’s Der Spiegel printed an interview with Schaeuble, 72, in which he said he could always ask the president to relieve him of his duties in response to a question about whether problems could arise if the chancellor and finance minister had divergent opinions on financial support for Greece.
Some German media published reports based on the interview suggesting that Schaeuble was thinking about stepping down.
Photo: Bloomberg
Der Spiegel also sent round an extract of the interview with the headline: “Schaeuble brings resignation into play.”
A Federal Ministry of Finance spokesman referred to Schaeuble’s clear answer in the interview to the question of whether he was considering asking the president to free him of his obligations, which was: “No. Where did you get that idea?”
The spokesman said he would not comment further on the report.
In the interview, which was widely reported by other German media, Schaeuble said: “Politicians’ responsibilities come from the offices they hold. Nobody can coerce them. If anyone were to try, I could go to the president and ask to be relieved of my duties.”
He said differing opinions went hand-in-hand with democracy and referred to a Christian Democrat (CDU) European election campaign poster from 1999 which featured an image of him and Merkel above the slogan: “Not always of the same opinion, but on the same path.”
That was still true of the pair, he said.
“That’s how it has remained until today, even if our roles have changed. You don’t need to worry about it,” he said.
CDU Secretary-General Peter Tauber told yesterday’s edition of German newspaper Tagesspiegel that Merkel and Schaeuble were “perhaps not always of the same opinion but they always walk down the same path,” according to an advance copy.
Schaeuble has questioned if Athens would ever get a third bailout and has said Greece might be better off taking a time out from the eurozone to sort out its economic problems — a suggestion that Merkel said would not work.
On Friday last week German lawmakers gave Berlin the green light to open negotiations on a third bailout for Greece.
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