I see you beat me too it UP.
Let's talk a bit about Germany's position.
The Germans said to Greece - you must pay back 100% of the money. Creditors cannot take a haircut for their bad loans. Greece said yes.
Germany said - you must pay it back today, in violation of your election promises. No delays. Greece said yes.
Germany said - you must impose huge cuts on social welfare institutions like the pension system, throwing most of the country into permanent poverty. Greece said yes.
Greece then said they'd like to cut their defence budget. Germany said no.
Greece said they'd like to levy taxes on their rich; no. No.
It has to all be on the poor. Or you're out. (Their justification for this by the way is that taxing the rich would be recessionary. The Germans simply are not negotiating in good faith, period).
Germany's view is that Greece must continue exactly the failed policies we forced on PASOK, which we know will continue to drive unemployment upwards, which will not end the debt crisis and probably will not even improve the situation and which we know will probably force most Greeks into poverty. There shall be no deviation whatsoever from exactly the policy set down in Berlin. Any failure of this policy is entirely the fault of the Greeks, forever. Elections do not matter. Greeks have no right to determine any element of their economic policy whatsoever. Austerity cannot fail, it can only be failed. These policies will continue until the crisis they caused ends - perhaps 2150 or so.
It should also be of note that Germany's position is regime change. They are trying to humiliate Syriza, so they'll be forced out of government.
Another way of saying this: Merkel is pro-Nazi. The only possible replacement government for Syriza is the Nazis. For a country that declares Never Again every few minutes, this is basically a despicable position. She has chosen to be the modern von Papen.
