Merkel under fire for ‘lazy Greeks’ comment

German Chancellor Angela Merkel came under fire at home and abroad in May 2011 for suggesting that people in Greece, Portugal and Spain take too many holidays and retire too early.

Speaking at a rally in the western German town of Meschede on 17 May 2011, Mrs Merkel suggested southern Europeans were not working enough, while Germans were expected to bail them out.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Bail-out revolt simmers in Germany http://www.europeansources.info/record/bail-out-revolt-simmers-in-germany/

Spiegel Online International, 19.5.11: Merkel's Clichés Debunked by Statistics http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,763618,00.html

Kathimerini, 19.5.11: Hey Merkel, leave the Greeks alone http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_519_19/05/2011_391445

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