“If I were to come to Greece, would they hit me?” “No, that’s what the Bild says”

A delightful dialogue took place between Merkel and Panagopoulos in Berlin, where the German Chancellor met with the president of GSEE on the initiative of the German unions.

“If I were to come to Greece, would they hit me?”, Merkel asked Panagopoulos. “No, that’s what the Bild says”, he rushed to answer.

The Chancellor appeared willing to hear the proposals of the Greek trade unions. She admitted that there are different views on the economic policy to be followed by our country in its attempt to exit the crisis, which she is prepared to listen to, even on a possible visit to Greece.

Earlier, Panagopoulos spoke extensively about the dramatic effects of the austerity measures and provided information from GSEE demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the policy followed for competitiveness and the sustainability of the Greek debt. "We need to stop the continuous compression of salaries and pensions," he said, believing that these measures lead our economy to a "slow death".

During their stay in Berlin, the GSEE delegation had contacts with representatives of the German government, the opposition, members of the German parliament, trade unionists and representatives of the German media.