German Chancellor Angela Merkel, centre, attends a leaders meeting of her Christian Democratic Union party at their headquarters in Berlin, Germany, on July 13.Markus Schreiber/The Associated Press
In Germany, reaction to the bailout deal on Monday ranged from relief that a Grexit had been avoided, for now, to criticism about the new round of harsh austerity measures advocated by the Germans. Whatever goodwill Germany had amassed internationally in recent years would be destroyed by this deal, critics said.
The Greek crisis has split the members of the 19 euro zone countries. On one side are the so-called hardliners, spearheaded by Germany and Finland, who want Greece to repay its debt, and are willing to accept a Grexit to make that happen. On the other side are those who want to keep Greece in the euro zone at all costs, led by Italy and France. Monday's deal is a decisive victory for the former, but will likely do little to heal the split in Europe.
German media focused on both the sizable value of the deal and the political ramifications for Germany and Greece. The Suddeutsche Zeitung, Germany's largest daily newspaper, published the news under the headline "Bitter Pills for Greece," while weekly news magazine Der Spiegel and daily tabloid Bild focused on the €86-billion ($120-billion) three-year value of the deal. Der Spiegel ran with the headline "So many Zeros." Bild, meanwhile, published an article with the headline: "There are Only Losers!"
Many in Germany and around the world who opposed austerity action against Greece took to Twitter on Monday to express their anger at the control they said the deal was giving Germany over Greece. Under the hashtag #ThisIsACoup, users tweeted their anger. "Europe's Unity has survived for now, but its values have been greatly damaged," tweeted Sven Giegold, a German politician and member of the Alliance 90/The Greens opposition party.
"You can't build enough Goethe-Institutes to repair the damage this weekend has done #ThisIsACoup," German freelance journalist Axel Reimann tweeted, referring to the German non-profit cultural association.
The same split exists among the German people, according to Tanja Borzel, a professor of political science at the Freie University in Berlin. What's important, she said, is if German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be able to persuade the German people of the necessity of the deal.
"The Chancellor is so popular that I have zero doubt she'll be able to convince even the mostly skeptic public why … this is maybe a second-best solution, but still better than an unorganized bankruptcy by Greece," she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
Though the critics were vocal on social media, Dr. Borzel said she believes criticism will be much more muted in German parliament.
"I don't see how this will be criticized by the major parties. … The parties that cover the biggest part of the German political spectrum will, most likely, stand behind this deal," she said.
The deal is also unlikely to affect the next German federal election, which will occur by 2017 at the latest. Because the new deal will be implemented over the next three years, the effects won't be seen until after the election, Dr. Borzel said.
Despite the international image of Germany as a hardliner, there is strong support for the Greek people among Germans, Dr. Borzel said.
"Despite all the skepticism, an unbelievably widespread solidarity on the part of Germans with the Greeks. Not with the Greek government … but with the Greek people. Many Germans see how bad the Greeks have it, how bad the social situation is in Greece," she said.