Sparking anger throughout Greece, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, stated that the euro crisis “has been formed over many years through mistakes that were made when the euro was created. For example, one should not have accepted Greece into the eurozone. . . . [Greece] weakened the stability pact.”

Yannos Papantoniou, who served as Greece’s finance minister from 1994 to 2001, rebutted claims that Greece’s acceptance into the euro bloc was undeserved. He also stated that Angela Merkel “should be more careful in what she is saying. I don’t really think Ms. Merkel believes what she says – it’s part of the party games played ahead of [German] elections.”

Merkel’s statement comes on the heels of her finance minister’s unwelcome announcement that Greece would need yet another loan.