BERLIN, March 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkelhas said she would offer no aid to Greece at talks with PrimeMinister George Papandreou in Berlin on Friday, but has welcomedhis cabinet"s new austerity measures as an important step.
Europe"s biggest economy and traditionally a rock ofstability in the euro zone is a crucial player for any aid.German public opinion is firmly against a bailout.
Following are extracts from influential German newspapereditorials on Greece from Thursday:
BILD (Centre-right mass-circulation)
"The Athens government wants to cut costs sharply, but whatif that"s not enough? Sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks!... And sell the Acropolis too! It might sound crazy at first.But if we have to bail out the Greeks with billions of euros,they should also give up something in exchange -- for example afew of your beautiful Aegean Sea islands. You get cash. We getCorfu."
DIE WELT (Centre-right)
"It"s one thing to announce austerity measures. But it"s entirely different to implement and maintain the necessarystructural reforms ... And how will Europe hold the euro zonetogether without a common fiscal and economic policy? As long asthere"s no answer to the question it"s hard to shrug offGermans" doubts about the euro and Europe as hysteria."
SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Centre-left)
"Greek Prime Minister Papandreou is behaving like a mandrowning in the stormy Aegean Sea. He keeps shouting "help"louder and louder and hopes that his compatriots will hear hispleas. The burden is large. Greeks will earn less and pay more.The prime minister hopes that his efforts will be noted inBerlin and Brussels."
HANDELSBLATT (Business daily)
"Greece is on the right track. Tough savings measures andpolitical support from the rest of the EU should calm thingsdown now."
DER TAGESSPIEGEL (Centre-left)
"Greece did not fail tragically but rather cheated theEuropean Union and tricked its way into the euro zone with bogusdata. Not a lot will change in Greece until there"s an opendiscussion about all that."
STERN (Centre-left)
"It will be more than a mere disgrace if the European Uniondoesn"t clear up the Greek problem quickly. It would alsopossibly be the beginning of the end of the EU and its -- onlyjust -- stable currency."
NEUE RUHR ZEITUNG
"It looks like the worst fears about the euro wereexaggerated. The euro zone looks like it will hold together now.But it is still too early to announce all is clear ... Hardlyanyone thought the Greek government would be able to pushthrough such serious austerity measures. They proved yesterdaythey could." (Compiled by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by Janet McBride)
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