The draconian list of
demands eurozone leaders handed to the Greek government in return for a European bailout has inspired a social media backlash against Germany and its hawkish finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble.
#ThisIsACoup was the second top trending hashtag on Twitter worldwide – and top in Germany and Greece.
The tag was attached to tens of thousands of angry comments denouncing German-inspired proposals for European Union-directed reforms of Greece’s public administration and demands that Athens pass new laws within days to raise taxes and cut back on pensions.
It was given impetus when Paul Krugman, the Nobel laureate economist, praised it on
his New York Times blog: “The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right,” he wrote. “This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national sovereignty, and no hope of relief.
“It is, presumably, meant to be an offer
Greece can’t accept; but even so, it’s a grotesque betrayal of everything the European project was supposed to stand for.
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The world is starting to acknowledge the true face of germany in this situation.