ATHENS: Greek police are on high alert for this week’s visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bracing for street protests against the leader of Europe’s paymaster who has become a hate figure to many over punishing austerity cuts.
About 6,500 police, backed by water cannon and a helicopter, will be on the streets for Tuesday’s trip alongside about 300 members of the coastguard, and Athens city center will be sealed off, a police source said yesterday.
Merkel will meet conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on her first visit to the debt-crippled country since the beginning of the Greek financial crisis almost three years ago.
The German leader is a popular hate figure in Greece, often blamed for harsh austerity measures imposed by the government in return for vital international aid, and at one stage she was depicted as Hitler in caricatures published in the tabloid press.
Last month, during a general strike against spending cuts, protesters marching past the Bank of Greece crossed out “Greece” on the bank’s sign and wrote “Merkel” over it.
During the visit, special security precautions will also be taken for the German embassy and other German-affiliated buildings, the Athens News Agency has reported.
Samaras has assured Merkel that she will be “welcomed in the appropriate way for the leader of a major power and a friendly country,” but many in Greece object to the visit.
Opposition parties, labor unions and communist-affiliated group Pame are planning to greet the German leader with street protests and work stoppages.
“(Merkel) is coming to rescue a corrupt and discredited political system that is subject to her interests,” said Alexis Tsipras, leader of radical leftwing opposition party Syriza that is taking a leading role in the protests.
Leader of popular nationalist party Independent Greeks, Panos Kammenos, has also called for a gathering outside the German embassy.
The visit comes at a crucial time for the heavily indebted country, which is in the midst of negotiations with its international creditors over a 13.5-billion-euro ($17.5 billion) package of cuts.
A positive outcome is vital to unblock a 31.5-billion-euro installment from Greece’s EU-IMF bailout package, which are needed to recapitalize banks and repay outstanding domestic debts in a country that is heading for a sixth straight year of recession.
