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The Finns are Greece's toughest adversaries

12 July 2015 / 15:07:45  GRReporter
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According to a poll of the British agency YouGov, the Finnish public opinion is extremely hostile to any concessions to Greece, especially debt relief.

The newly elected Finnish government is running the risk of disintegration in case it condones any concessions to Athens.

According to the YouGov survey, the Finns are the most intransigent critics of Greece in comparison with the citizens of fiveother European countries. They are adamantly against the idea of easing the Greek debt, and even surpass the Germans on this count.

At a time when Europe is deciding Greece's destiny in Brussels, the survey data show that the Finnish government has to deal with a flimsy balance both in terms of governing its own country and jostling against public opinion, if any concessions to Greece were to be made at all.

The survey was conducted between 6 and 10 July, i.e. after the referendum, and it involved 6818 people.

73% of Finns have accused the Greek government and its predecessors of the country's plight today. In Denmark, this share is 70%, in Sweden - 65%, in Germany - 59%, in the UK - 38%, and in France - 33%.

Furthermore, 74% of Finns say that the creditors must insist on compliance with the conditions originally agreed. Only 14% believe that the terms should be renegotiated and Greece's debt reduced.

In Denmark, this percentage is 64%, in Germany - 61%, in Sweden - 53%, in France - 41%, and in the UK - 38%.

The Finnish Finance Minister, Alexander Stubb, was particularly frustrated after the 9-hour yesterday's Eurogroup meeting. He confirmed reports that Helsinki is against new loans to Greece.

Timo Soini, whose True Finns party was championing Grexit at the April election, and now is part of the coalition government, is the man who vetoed Greece during yesterday's meeting.

Through Alexander Stubb, the populist threatened to leave the government in case a third bailout is handed out to Greece.

The Finnish Parliament will give the finance minister no green light to negotiate a new aid package for Greece.

However, the rules of the European Stability Mechanism provide the opportunity to overcome the Finn's veto.

Tags: Timo Soini Alexander Stubb Finland public opinion poll
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