The Guardian view on the Greek crisis: time for the French connection
|
Version 0 of 1. The Greek crisis has reached a point where a mediator could play a crucial role. Eurozone leaders are gathering yet again for an 11th-hour attempt at compromise. This may offer a fresh chance for dialogue and open consultation, but it risks falling short of the kind of hands-on effort that is needed when the task is to steer both sides away from a hugely damaging impasse. Throughout the crisis there has been the clear possibility of an ultimate clash between, on the one side, Greece’s Syriza government and, on the other, the Brussels institutions – with Germany looming in the background. Intractable conflicts of this kind frequently need an even-handed mediator who addresses complaints, weighs the odds and options, and proposes terms on which adversaries might be persuaded and pressured into agreement. The polarisation over Greece is now enormous. So the kind of neutral and mutually acceptable go-between required is not easily found. In other circumstances, the UK, as both a euro-outsider and a European heavyweight, might fit the bill. But Britain is now disqualified from any honest-broker position because it is itself engaged in high-wire negotiations with EU leaders over its very status in the European club. The likeliest candidate for the role is therefore France. François Hollande has sent out signals that he might be willing to undertake the job. Since the Greek referendum, he has let his ministers speak of the urgency of keeping Greece inside the eurozone. France’s socialist president is also better placed than Germany’s conservative chancellor to deal with Greece’s radical leftwing leadership. France is the second-largest economy in the eurozone. It would be hard for Angela Merkel to ignore such an initiative. Historical factors matter here too. Greeks may find it easier to accept French propositions rather than alleged diktats from a country that – as they have been told by their government – still owes them money for war reparations. France was also key in getting Greece into the European Economic Community in 1981. President Hollande would surely relish the prospect of displaying France’s influence – assuming his efforts got somewhere. Success would neutralise some of the criticism coming out of the French radical left and the far-right Front National, who are both vociferous about too much kowtowing to Germany. Related: Angela Merkel must act now for Greece, Germany and the world | Letters from Thomas Piketty, Jeffrey Sachs and others It is, though, an open question whether there can be a French route out of the crisis; and it is even more difficult when time is now so short. France’s authority might be undermined by its own repeated failure to abide by EU deficit targets in recent years. Can a country be a mediator when it has secured special delays for itself that have not been granted to other eurozone countries? Even so, Europe’s social democrats definitely have a role to play in attempting to fashion a compromise. President Hollande could team up with Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, on this endeavour. Obstacles are huge, not least because of the disastrous hardline position of the leader of the German SPD, Sigmar Gabriel, who appears to think there is political advantage to be gained from plugging into German anti-Greek sentiment. But if the huge gap that has now opened up between Athens and Berlin is to be bridged, Paris may be best placed to attempt it. France has both an opportunity and a responsibility. |