British chancellor’s ‘Grexit’ comments cause stir
British Treasury sources were said to be playing down reports according to which Chancellor George Osborne told a business summit in London on Tuesday that German Chancellor Angel Merkel may sacrifice Greece to save the eurozone.
British media quoted treasury sources as saying that Osborne had not been commenting on the prospect of a Greek euro zone exit but on the need for decisive action to protect the single currency.
The Chancellor had reportedly suggested that Greece’s departure could be required to convince German voters that it was worth propping up the single currency. «I ultimately don’t know whether Greece needs to leave the euro in order for the eurozone to do the things necessary to make their currency survive,» Obsorne was quoted as saying. «I just don’t know whether the German government requires a Greek exit to explain to their public why they need certain things like a banking union, eurobonds and things in common with that,» the chancellor was said to have added.
The European Commission has strenuously denied that it is drawing up contingency plans for a possible Greek exit from the eurozone but individual nations are believed to be prepapring for such an eventuality.
