The two faces of Germany: how Germany’s support for refugees could counteract criticism of its handling of the Greek debt crisis

Throughout the Greek debt crisis, the majority of criticism from those who support a more lenient deal for Greece has been directed at Germany. As Simon Reich writes, however, Germany has also taken on a leading role in the migration crisis that has developed in southern Europe during 2015, which has placed a disproportionate burden on Greece due to its status as a transit route for refugees. He argues that German willingness to accept high numbers of asylum seekers could go some way toward counterbalancing the rise of anti-German sentiments that has occurred during the debt crisis, and that these twin crises represent the two ‘faces’ of Germany: the old and the new.