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Co-leader of Germany’s Left Party says German government blackmails Greece

With this lack of tact the government may set off a bomb that may aggravate the crisis in Greece, Bernd Riexinger said

BERLIN, January 5. /TASS/. Co-leader of Germany’s Left Party, Bernd Riexinger, has accused the federal government of blackmailing Athens and of deliberate attempts to destabilize the situation in Greece. His comments followed an article in Der Spiegel magazine saying that Chancellor Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble no longer ruled out the possibility crisis-stricken Greece might leave the euro area.

“With this lack of tact the government may set off a bomb that may aggravate the crisis in Greece,” Riexinger said in an interview to Handelsblatt-online. “This kind of open blackmail destabilizes the situation in the run-up to elections.”

He argues that such media publications may trigger massive withdrawal of cash by retail clients form their bank accounts.

“That’s organized irresponsibility,” Riexinger said.

Der Spiegel quoted government sources as saying the German authorities believed Athens’ withdrawal from the euro area would be almost inevitable if Greece after the January 25 parliamentary elections curtailed the policy of austerity and public spending cuts.