Left Opposition Grows to German Austerity Measures on Greece

​ Protests continued across 14 cities in Germany Thursday against the government’s aggressive treatment of the Greek crisis, in solidarity with their European Mediterranean neighbors.

Opposition to Angela Merkel’s austerity deal, viewed by many to be harsher than those rejected by the Greek people in a referendum, is also growing within her own Christian Democrat party (CDU).

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg Wednesday, waving Greek flags and banners with the word “Oxi,” meaning “no” in Greek, and vowed to return every Wednesday until a new deal is struck

"I'm furious with these criminals," a Greek teacher who has lived in Germany all her life told the Guardian. "I don't want my taxes supporting this criminal coup."

Government politicians have registered their discontent with the latest bailout negotiations as well, with some writing in the local Bild newspaper about how they plan to vote against them when the proposal is presented to parliament this week.

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“German members of parliament are not puppets who have to raise their hands when the puppet master wants them to,” wrote the CDU’s Klaus-Peter Willsch.

In further solidarity with the battered Greek people, the hashtag #ThisIsACoup was trending on Wednesday and Thursday, as enraged social media users compared the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, to a Nazi, adding swastikas to photos of him.

Finance Ministers from the European Union agreed on Thursday to use the European Financial Stability Mechanism for a $7.6 billion bridge loan to Greece until the country negotiates its next full bailout.

The loan is expected to be confirmed by the European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday, when it will be voted on in the EU Council. The discussions on emergency funding started after the Greek parliament adopted a set of reforms demanded by its creditors late Wednesday after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called on the lawmakers to vote for what he himself described as "irrational" proposals.

A larger rally in which thousands are expected, planned by campaign group Blockupy, is set to take place Friday to vent anger over what they see as the government’s undemocratic behavior.

"Many Germans feel ashamed by what the German government is doing at the moment," Blockupy’s spokeswoman Hannah Eberle told Newsweek, adding "we want everybody to see the other face of Europe. A face of solidarity."

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