Greece can handle debt crisis: Harper
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is confident Greece will be able to handle a crushing debt crisis that has hit the European nation's economy despite protests and political division over austerity measures.
Harper made the comments after a meeting Saturday in Athens with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou as part of his first offical trip to the country.
"We have every confidence that our Greek hosts here and our European friends will continue to deal with the matters so the global economy can continue to grow," Harper said.
Harper spoke as nervous markets watched the imminent danger of a Greek default following the government and opposition's failure to reach an agreement on a fresh round of proposed austerity measures on Friday, the CBC's Terry Milewski reported from Athens.
"This was a very delicate moment for this meeting, and any sign from either prime minister that was less than reassuring could potentially be disastrous."
Harper came to Athens fresh from the G8 meetings in France, where leaders discussed the global economic crisis, which is hitting Greece particularly hard.
For the past year, Greece has relied on a $155 billion package of bailout loans from other EU countries and the International Monetary Fund.
But the first round of austerity measures agreed to in return didn't ease market concerns that their economy can be salvaged. On Friday, political leaders in Greece failed to agree on new measures, jeopardizing the next round of bailout funds from the EU and IMF.
Harper told reporters he knew "from experience" it is not unusual for opposition parties to refuse to co-operate with the government.
"But governments have a responsibility to act and I certainly honour the determination of Prime Minister Papandreou and the very difficult actions he's had to take in response to problems his government did not create," he said.
In an earlier interview with CBC Radio's The House, Harper said he has come to appreciate face-to-face meetings since becoming prime minister five years ago.
"In spite of all the modern communications and all the levels of officials you have, nothing actually can replace sitting down with your counterpart in another country and seeing what they actually think and why they think it," he told CBC's Susan Lunn.
There are about 250,000 Canadians with Greek heritage and several within the prime minister's circle, including Tony Clement, the president of the Treasury Board, and newly elected member of Parliament Costas Menegakis. Both are on the trip.
Harper's director of communications, Dimitri Soudas, is also Greek. On Sunday, Harper will visit the village of Kalavryta, where members of Soudas's family still live.
Harper is not there on a family visit, but will pay his respects at a memorial for the Greek men and boys rounded up and summarily killed by the Nazis during the Second World War. Soudas's grandfather was among the victims.
Harper and his wife Laureen are also expected to visit the Acropolis.
Harper will have a big domestic agenda when he returns to Canada. The speech from the throne will be delivered next week. Harper told CBC News that people should not expect any big news.
"The throne speech will not contain surprises. The throne speech will mirror very closely the platform the government ran on in its election campaign," he said.
Harper said first the government will focus on what it wants to pass quickly — namely, the budget.
Parliament will resume June 2 and the speech from the throne will follow the next day.
