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 Merkel was addressing parliament, which is expected to vote by a
clear margin for the euro zone to start talks on the new aid program
even though Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has questioned
whether it will succeed.
Schaeuble himself has suggested that Greece might be better off
taking a "time-out" from the euro zone to sort out its daunting
economic problems.
But Merkel argued for negotiating a new deal with Greece to prevent
the country's exit from the euro - the "Grexit" that might undermine
the entire currency union.
"The alternative to this agreement would not be a 'time-out' from
the euro ... but rather predictable chaos," she told the Bundestag
lower house. "We would be grossly negligent, and act irresponsibly,
if we didn’t at least attempt this way."
Popular misgivings run deep in Germany, the euro zone country which
has contributed most to Greece's two bailouts since 2010, about
funneling yet more aid to Athens.
But the conservative chancellor expressed scepticism that a
temporary Greek departure from the common currency would solve the
problem, saying neither Greece nor the other 18 euro zone member
countries were willing to accept the idea. "Therefore this way was
not viable,” she added.
Nevertheless Merkel thanked Schaeuble - her most powerful ally - for
his work in the long, grueling talks which produced the new bailout
plan last weekend. Lawmakers gave him resounding applause while
Schaeuble nodded and gave a wry smile.
Despite his misgivings, Schaeuble lined up with his boss. "I ask you
all to vote for this request today. The government didn’t submit the
request easily," he told the Bundestag. "It's a last attempt to
fulfil this extraordinarily difficult task."
Merkel also won support from the Social Democrats, the junior
coalition partner. "Every debate about a Grexit must now belong to
the past," said Social Democrat leader Sigmar Gabriel, who is also
vice chancellor.
Lawmakers from Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats
already voted overwhelmingly in favor of the euro zone opening talks
with Athens in test ballots held on Thursday. This indicates Merkel
is likely to get the mandate she needs from the Bundestag, with some
opposition parties also expected to vote 'Yes' at the end of the
debate.
SEVEN REASONS
That view is far from unanimous across the nation.
"Seven reasons why the Bundestag should vote 'No' today," ran a
headline in the mass-selling Bild daily, listing 'Grexit is the
better solution' and 'our grandchildren will pay' among its reasons.
The Greek parliament approved the new bailout offer in the early
hours of Thursday, although Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had to
rely on opposition support after some lawmakers from his left-wing
Syriza party rebelled.
Tsipras moved on Friday to replace his energy minister, one of the
rebels, a government source said.
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Some Syriza members refuse to accept the demands for yet more
austerity and reform included in the deal with Greece's creditors.
The Greek electorate has already rejected an earlier offer in a
referendum, and the latest is even tougher.
Still, the Greek parliamentary approval opened the way for European
action to stave off Grexit, at least for the time being. The
European Central Bank increased emergency funding to keep the
country's banks from collapse on Thursday.
European Union finance ministers also approved 7 billion euros in
bridge loans to Greece, allowing it to avoid defaulting on a bond
payment to the ECB next Monday and clear its arrears with the IMF.
With Merkel under domestic pressure from lawmakers who have lost
trust in Greece, the creditors agreed the tough deal at the weekend
demanding that Athens cut pensions, raise value-added tax, and set
aside 50 billion euros ($54 billion) of state assets to sell off.
Conservative lawmaker Mark Helfrich told Deutschlandfunk radio he
would still vote 'No', adding: "This is about ruined trust." In a
sign of frustration with Athens, 48 conservatives in Thursday's test
vote opposed new negotiations, according to participants.
Some members of the opposition Greens plan to abstain, saying they
want Greece to stay in the euro but reject austerity as a cure for
its ills. "Another bloodletting won't make Greece more healthy
again," said lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckhardt, backing IMF calls
for Greece's debt burden to be eased.
That fell on deaf ears with Merkel and Schaeuble, who said European
law did not permit a "haircut" writing off part of the debt.
German conservatives have accused Tsipras of blackmail for saying
other weaker euro zone countries would slide into crisis if Greece
were forced out of the euro. But Gregor Gysi of the Left party,
Syriza's ideological counterpart in Germany, turned the tables.
"You're not being blackmailed - you're the blackmailers yourselves"
said Gysi. "Mr Schaeuble, I'm sorry but you're in the process of
destroying the European idea."
(Additional reporting by Michell Martin and Caroline Copley; editing
by David Stamp, Janet McBride)
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