Zimmer: Greeks can't pay debts alone

Deutsche Welle: The radical left has won elections in Greece, just narrowly falling short of an absolute majority. Now Syriza has chosen to create a coalition with the right-wing populist Independent Greeks of all parties. How does that square with its leftist worldview?

Gabi Zimmer: I believe that, in the face of the current situation in Greece, this is not a time for "worldviews." Syriza failed to achieve an absolute majority by a small margin, so it had to find a suitable coalition partner. Many others had announced that they would not be available.

We have to bear in mind what all this is about. The Syriza people have to develop policies on behalf of a majority, not just on behalf of their supporters. They have to obtain broad popular support. That is probably what's behind it all.

Do you believe that new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will indeed be able to enforce his demands in Brussels, namely a debt reduction haircut and improved conditions for servicing Greek debts?

That depends on the eventual outcome. If negotiations lead to more flexibility, if Greece is given more time, if the tough austerity measures - in particular those affecting the poorest in Greece - are not upheld any longer, if there was a search for common solutions to eventual debt servicing, then this would be an enormous success. I think first and foremost it's a question of sending a signal to the people in Greece: The new government will no longer comply and stand idly by while Greece's health system and other social structures are destroyed. This has to change quickly. Even the European Union is aware of this. And the EU Commission and the European Central Bank are aware of it as well.

There are other demands that are considered, in part, absurd by the euro group, such as kicking out the "troika," consisting of the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. As a credit beneficiary, I'm hardly in a position to kick out the accountant, as this would invalidate the credit agreement. Election campaign pledges aside, which of Syriza's demands are realistic?

At any rate, it is a realistic expectation to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss matters. Among others, even European Commission President [Jean-Claude] Juncker has said that the Troika will cease to exist in its current form. It's a problem to keep the European Central Bank within the Troika if it has to implement measures for which there is a political responsibility. In this respect, changes are imminent. I'm quite sure the same applies to the EU Commission. Greece's most important negotiation partners will be sitting on the Council: That means they will be the European member states.

Mr. Tsipras wants to generate more tax revenue from well-to-do people in Greece. This will hardly be sufficient to finance a reversal of the current austerity policy. Where is the money going to come from?

With respect to the medium term, this is evident: He has to fight corruption in Greece. He has to make those who have been dodging taxes for years and took their money elsewhere pay up. Only he can achieve that; there is no other political force in Greece that can enforce that. In the short term, however, he is forced to put an end to the humanitarian crisis. That means there have to be new investments. Among other things, this applies to setting up a health care system based on solidarity, and to establishing social structures that were destroyed by the Samaras government far beyond the scope defined by the Troika. After all, the Troika had not asked for a dismantling of the entire health care system. In this respect, there have to be clear negotiations in my opinion. And of course Greece immediately needs funds for investments in sustainable development. This requires the involvement of the European Central Bank.

What do you think of a proposal - submitted, as well, by Syriza delegates in the European Parliament - according to which a conference should be held in order to write off debts and get rid of them by some magic? How is that supposed to work? Creditors in the north, namely Germany and France, and probably Italy as well, are not likely to comply.

Well, some Greeks are not entirely wrong when they refer to the 1953 debt conference for Germany. At the time, all parties involved sat down at the negotiating table and said, "We need Germany as an economic partner." Therefore, there had to be conditions that facilitated its recovery after the war. So agreements were reached that enabled Germany to take an economic upturn. Syriza remembered this and said, "Our situation is similar to the aftermath of war: Everything is in ruins. Many administrative and social structures are defunct. The economy is in tatters. [With help], we will be able to pay back those debts that were recognized."

Of course a comparison with World War II falls short: Greece was not involved in a war, and former Greek governments deliberately borrowed copious amounts of money. Are you in favor of German taxpayers paying for Greek debts?

I see things a little differently. Taxpayers will realize that, for instance, without a solution the entire euro system will fall into disrepute and bear the consequences, because Greece simply cannot pay its debts. It would take Greece 50 to 70 years to service its debts. If the creditors want their money back, the most reasonable thing to do would be to sit down at the negotiating table and look for common solutions.

The election victory of the Greek leftists is probably also a result of desperation. Is it a signal of hope for other left-wing parties in Europe, such as Podemos in Spain?

I think so, in particular for Podemos, which has broad public support. With respect to the election result, it is interesting that not only die-hard Syriza supporters could be mobilized. In Greece, many people could be mobilized and contributed to the election campaign because they learned the hard way that it is necessary to rebuild social structures. Spain's Podemos is comparable to Syriza, although the former's political orientation is still ambiguous; it is not entirely clear where they will be heading during their election campaign. That will be very interesting to see over the coming weeks and months.

Gabi Zimmer (59) is a member of the European Parliament from Germany's Left party and the leader of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left bloc, to which Greece's new ruling party, Syriza, has belonged since the European elections in May 2014. Zimmer was a member of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in the former East Germany; after reunification, she became a member of Thuringia's state parliament and the leader of the SED's successor party, the Party of Democratic Socialism. A trained interpreter of Russian and French, she has been a member of the European Parliament since 2004.