Germany warns Greece over reforms as Pasok tries to form coalition government

Pressure is mounting on Greece to form a coalition government after Germany’s foreign minister warned there would be no more payments of aid unless Athens implemented the reforms it has agreed with its international partners. 

Reuters / Panayiotis Tzamaros

“We want to help Greece and we will help Greece, but Greece has to want to be helped,” Guido Westerwelle told lawmakers.

Creditors have also warned that a rescue loan instalment to be paid on Thursday could be the last if Greece reneges on its reform commitments.

Westerwelle’s comments comes as the Greek Socialist party, Pasok, continued with talks to form a coalition government after the weekend’s indecisive polls.

Early Friday Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos is scheduled to meet the leader of the New Democracy conservative party, which came first in the election. He had said he wants to create a unity government which would keep the country in the Eurozone.

Venizelos has already won the conditional support of the small Democratic Left Dimar party after meeting with its leader Fotis Louvelis on Thursday.

Pasok came a distant third in the weekend polls winning 41 seats in the 300-seat parliament. Venizelos’attempts to form a government follow the failure of both the New Democracy party and second-placed radical left with party Syriza to produce a government over the last week.

A fresh setback would mean a call by President Carolos Papoulias for all parties to form a emergency coalition by 17 May. Failing this, a new general election will be announced.

Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a regional newspaper on Friday that the eurozone would cope if Greece left the currency union.

“Europe won’t sink that easily,” he told the regional Theinische Post.