Step Aside Grindr! Introducing A New App To Help You Find A 'Daddy'
We've got apps to order vegan hoagies, cabs and laundry detergent – but what if what you really need is a hot, mature guy to spend some time with?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/queerview-dec-12_n_6315252.html
By Eliel Cruz | January 9, 2015
It wasn't a huge surprise when TLC announced that they'd air a one-hour special called My Husband's Not Gay on January 11th. The network has hosted anti-LGBT reality stars the Duggars for many seasons now. But none of the anti-LGBT things the Duggars have done or said – and there are lots of examples – have been as dangerous to the LGBT community as My Husband's not Gay.
The show's premise is to follow the lives of four Mormon men who, although admittedly attracted to men, seek out romantic and, presumably, sexual relationships with women. Their religious beliefs do not allow them to be in same-sex relationships, and it is because of those beliefs that they seek out these "church-sanctioned" relationships. Just from the teaser trailer, people have seen the potential harm, and a petition asking for TLC to cancel the show has garnered over 90,000 signatures so far. Here are four reasons why the LGBT community is speaking out against TLC:
1. Reparative therapy is violence.
Attempting to change your innate sexual orientation has proven to heighten depression, anxiety and suicide attempts. In fact, the American Psychological Association has denounced the practice of reparative therapy. Despite that, it's now being promoted by this special on a platform that brings in millions of viewers. These men use the same verbiage and framework that's been taught by decades by those in the so-called "ex-gay" movement. Using words like "same-sex attracted" in lieu of saying one is gay is ex-gay training 101. The show will most likely avoid using the term "reparative therapy" as it's become known for being deeply harmful. But whether it's explicitly said or not, that's what this show is about.
2. TLC is giving a fringe narrative a platform.
Exodus International, the largest reparative therapy organization, closed its doors in 2013. Alan Chambers, Exodus International's former director, publicly apologized for the irreparable damage done (Chambers himself is "same-sex attracted" and in a marriage with a woman). He also admitted that 99.9 percent of people who went through reparative therapy were unsuccessful in changing their sexual orientation – that's his statistic. Why would TLC promote a story that isn't reflective of the vast majority of LGBT people?
Perpetuating the idea that changing one's sexuality is possible through sincere prayer is willfully ignoring the abundance of evidence in the contrary. This narrative is being seen less and less. Even religious leaders who are non-affirming of same-sex relationships have denounced this practice. It's been pushed back into the small corner of the conservative right who use religious ideologies to harm LGBT people. That's where it should stay.
3. Bisexuality is a thing. This is not it.
Some observers have been quick to label these men as actually bisexual in a quick effort to prove that gay men can't change. As a bisexual man, I'm cautious in labeling these men as bisexual for numerous reasons. Bisexuality, as any sexuality, is an identity. It is not one these men would use to describe themselves, and I would respect that.
There's also the myth that bisexuals can simply choose between genders. It's a myth both straight and gay people have about bisexuals, and it's just not accurate. Does anyone ever truly choose who they fall in love with?
There's a chance these men may be romantically and/or sexually attracted to more than one gender. It's a possibility. It's also a possibility these men have been inundated with religious-based homophobia their entire lives and are actually just gay and are repressing their natural desires because they feel their eternal salvation depends on it. As a bisexual person of faith, I understand their convictions. But this is a dangerous solution for both the gay men and their straight spouses.
4. Reparative therapy hurts trans people, too
This practice is not only dangerous for the sexuality component of the LGB community but also for transgender persons. Recently, transgender teenager Leelah Alcorn committed suicide. Her story of her religious parents rejecting her went viral. She noted that her parents tried to change her through therapy with a "Christian therapist" in hopes to get her to conform to the gender she was assigned at birth. This happens far too often. Transgender people, especially youth, go through reparative therapy too, and it's just as harmful to them as it is to LGB people.
This new TLC show is dangerous to all of the LGBT community.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/4-reasons-tlc-s-my-husband-s-not-gay-is-dangerous-for-lgbt-people-20150109#ixzz3OdCfqS00
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
I don't see anything wrong with it either.
That's insane… More insane than the fact that ALL McDonald's in the USA as of January 1, 2015 require that passengers be weighed on a scale to determine if they're "obease" enough to be refused service.
What is insane about that? McDonald's is taking some social responsibility for their part in causing obesity. Secondly, consider your source. Have you been to a McDonald's and seen this happen? I have been to a McDonald's in California and they did not do this.
It is enforced by the employers, not the government, which gave the employers the authority to do so.
This sounds pretty gay-hating to me.
Slovakia's anti-gay activists
Uncivil society
January 5, 2015
A genuine grassroots democratic movement to deny rights to same-sex families
BILLIONS of euros, dollars, pounds, kroner and other Western currencies have been spent over the past two decades trying to develop civil society in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe, much of it without success. But a forthcoming referendum in Slovakia shows that in some places citizens are capable of organising in pursuit of political goals—albeit ones not typically found on the liberal agendas of international non-governmental organisations. In just five months, the grassroots Alliance for Family (AZR) has collected more than 400,000 signatures (about 8% of the population) on a petition to restrict the family rights of gays.
The petition calls for a referendum aimed at tightening the legal definition of the family and banning same-sex couples from adopting children. President Andrej Kiska has scheduled the referendum for February 7th. Last year, the nominally leftist governing Smer party pushed through a constitutional ban on gay marriage, but the AZR says it does not go far enough to guarantee the sanctity of families and protect children. “For us the rights of children are more important than the rights of adults,” says Anton Chromík, a lawyer and one of the AZR’s leaders.
Social conservatism is typical in much of the region. Poland still bans almost all abortions, and 65% of Croatians voted to outlaw gay marriage in 2013. But organic political movements such as AZR are more unusual. The referendum the group has pushed through will pose three separate questions: Do you agree that only a bond between one man and one woman can be called marriage? Do you agree that same-sex couples or groups should not be allowed to adopt and raise children? Do you agree that schools cannot require children to participate in education pertaining to sexual behaviour or euthanasia if their parents don’t agree?
“We are not opposed to sexual education, we are opposed to sexual training,” says Mr Chromík, a father of five. “In Slovakia, without sexual training in schools, we have many fewer teenage pregnancies than in Britain.”
Mr Chromik's claim is accurate, but Britain is an outlier: it has one of the highest teen fertility rates in the developed world, whereas other countries with compulsory sex-education programmes, including France, Germany, Japan and the Nordic countries, have among the lowest. Slovakia's own teen birth rate (some 18 births per thousand girls aged 15-19) puts it well on the high side, all the more remarkable considering that its overall fertility rate is far lower than Britain's.
As for the issue of adoption, a 2012 study by the University of Nottingham found that Slovakia had the most abandoned children of the 22 European Union countries examined—4.9 per 1,000 births. Nearly 40% of Slovak orphans are housed in state institutions rather than with foster families—in the United States, the figure is about 14%—meaning there are plenty of children who could benefit from a bigger pool of willing adoptive parents.
Mr Chromík admits that the country’s adoption system needs reform, but says same-sex couples are not part of the solution. Among the over 100 organisations that now back the AZR cause, none is more important than the Catholic Church, of which 63% of Slovaks consider themselves members. Some sermons may allude to the referendum in the coming weeks. “In an atmosphere of love and family over the holidays we turn to the faithful and all people of good will, that in February they will actively exercise their right to vote affirmatively to the questions raised,” the Slovak Conference of Bishops said in a statement on December 18th.
With the church’s ability to mobilise voters, there is little doubt that over 50% of those taking part will vote in favour of the ballot initiatives. But for the plebiscite to have legislative force, half of registered voters must take part. The only referendum to cross this threshold in the history of Slovakia was a 2003 vote that paved the way for joining the European Union a year later; three others failed to do so. Croatia’s 2013 vote to ban gay marriage drew just 38% of registered voters.
Slovakia's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups are smaller, less organised and disproportionately centred on the capital of Bratislava. Rather than campaigning against the initiatives, they are encouraging people not to vote at all, for fear that "no" voters might push turnout over 50%. They also vow to challenge any initiative that succeeds in the European courts. In the end, a referendum defeated by low turnout might prove the ultimate sign that the country is a mature 21st-century democracy. Not only would it show that Slovakia has civil-society groups capable of getting their issues onto the national agenda—it would also show that, just as in most advanced countries, the dominant force in contemporary politics is voter apathy.
Slovak Politics and Gay Rights
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/opinion/slovak-politics-and-gay-rights.html?_r=0
"Post-Communist countries can be likened to Western societies operating with a time lag — repeating the same debates that their Western counterparts had some 10 years ago. One such example is Slovakia’s current controversy over gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples."
Slovakia bans gay marriage in constitution
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/europe/2014/06/05/slovakia-bans-gay-marriage-in-constitution.html
A principal in western Sweden has come under fire for allegedly telling a male student to clean up the very same scribbles intended to taunt him.
The student was apparently called "fag" in class, and was harassed with discriminating graffiti and scrawls all over the school.
Upon finding his name and the words 'dirty fag' on the bathroom walls, the student reported the taunting to the school principal. The principal replied by telling the boy to "erase the words himself", newspaper Metro reported.
The boy said he had been plagued by bullying for the past two years, during which he was regularly called derogatory names and had his name scribbled on school benches and walls. His teachers as well had "seen it all but not reacted".
Finally the student left the school for an internship, in order to "escape bullying at school".
The boy accused the school of discrimination and reported the incident to Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen - DO).
Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers have clashed in a row over a court judgement on gay men giving blood.
Last year, a judge ruled that the health minister's decision not to lift a ban on gay men giving blood was irrational.
Edwin Poots criticised the ruling, but said he did not think he would get a fair hearing at the Appeal Court.
The lord chief justice then wrote to the first and deputy first ministers.
In a strongly-worded letter, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan described Mr Poots' comments as "detrimental to the rule of law and unacceptable".
But it emerged at the weekend, that eight months after he sent the letter, the lord chief justice still had not received a reply.
On Monday, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness blamed the delay in responding on First Minister Peter Robinson.
"The office of first minister and deputy first minister is a joint department, it requires agreement and it is no secret to anybody in this house that the first minister and I would have a different view of the remarks made by Minister Poots - not just by Minister Poots but by others even in the course of the last couple of days," he said.
"My sympathy is totally and absolutely with Sir Declan Morgan and I think that the sooner the matter is resolved, the better."
Mr Poots was not available for comment on Monday.
A statement issued by the DUP does not mention the health minister's comments.
However it does say Mr McGuinness was wrong to blame Mr Robinson for the absence of a response to the lord chief justice.
The DUP said the first minister drafted a reply in February indicating support for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law and how important it was that no minister should say anything that would undermine that fundamental principle.
It said the draft had been shared with the deputy first minister's office and that, to date, they had been unwilling to sign it.
'Unacceptable'
Sir Declan Morgan sent the letter to Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness
Sir Declan Morgan released a copy of his letter - sent to the first and deputy first ministers eight months ago - to the BBC on Friday.
In it, he said it was entirely unacceptable for a minister to suggest that the Court of Appeal was biased or unfair.
It goes on to say that the statement is not only untrue, but also damaging to public confidence in the administration of justice.
"Regrettably, this is not the first time that I have had to raise such concerns, which only adds to the seriousness with which I view the matter," the letter states.
"Our system of government depends on mutual respect between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
"That is something which I wish to promote.
"These comments by Minister Poots, however, are damaging to the constitutional relationships and are not in the public interest."
Earlier this year the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt began a legal appeal after the judge ruled it was up to him to decide if gay men could donate blood in Northern Ireland. The ban was lifted in Britain in 2011.
Mr Poots has also begun a legal challenge to the ruling.
A gay woman allegedly asked to stop consoling her distraught partner in a London restaurant has spoken of “shock” at the couple’s treatment.
Lydia Cawson, 29, alleges she and her girlfriend were asked by a staff member at Southbank’s Canteen eatery to "stop what you are doing please, this is a family restaurant."
Ms Cawson, who works in the Oxo Tower as a wardrobe assistant on the stage adaption of Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales, had met her girlfriend for a brief dinner.
She told London Live how her partner became upset after a stressful week and she was consoling her, sitting beside her and giving her a "light peck on the lips." A member of staff is said to have come over and asked them to stop.
"We were really shocked by this challenge because we didn’t feel like we were being overly affectionate," explained Ms Cawson. "I didn’t notice any adverse reaction in the restaurant myself."
"It was just a simple loving reaction," she said.
Although the restaurant has now apologised for any "issues" arising from the incident, and said it would investigate what happened, the incident comes amid a new report that shows rising levels of hate crimes across the capital.
According to the Metropolitan Police crimes targeting the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender) community have risen to as many as 100 cases a month, with a monthly increase of 21.5 per cent since March 2014.
"I feel like something needs to be done," Ms Cawson said when asked about the figures.
"I don’t know whether it is about awareness, I don’t know whether it’s about a sort of education of what is homophobia, what is offensive to people. I don’t think people are fully aware of different comments they make as to how they are received and I don’t know how that can be changed."
She claimed that many of her friends’ and family’s personal experiences did not attest to London being a LGBT-friendly city.
"But there are so many homophobic, not even homophobic but just prejudicial, acts you witness all the time, every single day in London," she claimed. "It happens all the time."
A spokesperson for the restaurant told the Evening Standard: "We have been already being in touch with the two guests that raised a complaint following their visit last week trying to get further details of the visit. We have apologised to them for any issues that this may have caused them and we have started a full investigation into these allegations.
"At Canteen we train all of our staff and managers in Equal Rights and opportunities no matter the race, religion or sexual orientation.
"We are very surprised and shocked to learn about this issue, which we have never encountered before. Nonetheless this has been taken extremely seriously and a full investigation has been launched to find out what happened."
What do you do if you suffer from same-sex attraction, but your faith tells you that homosexual acts are sinful and marriage and family are a man’s highest calling?
Well, if you’re one of the several Mormon men featured in this weekend’s TLC special “My Husband’s Not Gay,” you set aside your urges and refuse to make them your identity. If you’re lucky, you find someone to marry and live the life your faith calls you to live. And if the men who star in the show can be believed, through obedience, you find peace and happiness.
But homosexual activists are calling for the show to be yanked from the lineup before it has a chance to air, saying it promotes the “dangerous” idea that people can choose not to act on their homosexual urges.
“My Husband’s Not Gay” follows three Salt Lake City-area married couples – Jeff and Tanya, Pret and Megan, and Curtis and Tera – along with 35-year-old Tom, a single man who is sexually attracted to other men, but wants to find a wife.
All four men featured on the show say they are primarily physically attracted to other men. But according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (more commonly known as LDS or “Mormon”), “the only acceptable expression of sexuality and romantic feelings is within a marriage between a man and a woman.”
The three married men on the show all say they became aware of their same-sex attractions as adolescents and experimented with the gay lifestyle early on. But ultimately, all three decided that true emotional and spiritual fulfillment could only come from obedience to God.
"Just like I can't choose not to be gay, I can't choose not to be a person of faith,” said one of the men on the show.
The show explores the relationships between the three married men and their wives and children. Pret and Megan have been married nine years and have two living daughters (a third passed away in 2013). On the show, Pret explains that “the Latter-day Saints church teaches that behavior is a choice.”
“Choosing to act on these feelings [is wrong],” Pret said. “Having these feelings, not so much.”
Pret said he goes out of his way to focus on the positive when it comes to his relationship with his wife, and that as a result, their sex life is better than a lot of “normal” heterosexual couples he knows.
“The attraction has grown over the years,”Pret said in an interview with the New York Post. “I’ve really paid attention to being in the present with Megan and finding her beauty and uniqueness. It’s been a process, but we’ve had to go through the difficult times to get to the good times.”
Added Pret, “It’s definitely been worth it.”
Jeff said that the key to success for him and his wife of ten years, Tanya, has been brutal honesty. “The main thing is, there are absolutely no secrets between us,” Jeff told the Post. “Other people might look at us from the outside and say: ‘That’s unusual.’ But to us, it’s not a big deal and just part of the way we live our lives.
My wife and I love each other and our son very much, and that’s what counts.”
Of the three couples featured on the show, only Curtis and Tera married without Tera knowing that Curtis struggled with same-sex attraction. They have been married 20 years, but she only learned of his homosexual inclinations five years ago.
“When Curtis first told me, it was very upsetting and confusing, and I didn’t know who to talk to at the time,” Tera told the Post. “But because I love him so much, I never once considered divorce. I knew there was a way for us to work through it. And we did. Now, I think my husband and I have a better sex life than any of our straight friends that we know."
But regardless of how happy the couples on “My Husband’s Not Gay” claim to be, homosexual activists aren’t buying it. More than a hundred thousand of them have signed a petition urging TLC to cancel the show without airing it, claiming that by showing successful examples of people who have mastered their homosexual urges and gone on to live happy lives with members of the opposite sex, the network is putting harmful pressure on other gay people to do the same.
"This show is downright irresponsible," GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. "No one can change who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to. By investing in this dangerous programming, TLC is putting countless young LGBT people in harm's way."
But TLC said in a statement that they have no plans to drop the program. “TLC has long shared compelling stories about real people and different ways of life, without judgment,” the network said. “The individuals featured in this one-hour special reveal the decisions they have made, and speak only for themselves.”
Watch the trailer for “My Husband’s Not Gay” below:
Youtube Video
The highest human rights court in Europe shattered hopes that it would judicially impose same-sex marriage when it told a male to female transsexual and his wife that a civil union should be good enough for them.
European human rights law does not require countries to “grant access to marriage to same-sex couples,” according to a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in a case that tests the remote boundaries of possibility in law and fact.
The parties to the litigation and supporters of same-sex marriage acknowledge the result was predictable. Nevertheless the judgment has a devastating effect on gay rights in Europe, dashing hopes that same-sex “marriage” can become a reality there. The facts of the case are distinctive.
Heli Hämäläinen of Finland had a sex change operation in 2009 to appear anatomically as a woman, despite having fathered a child with his wife of over 10 years in 2002. Before the operation, he tried to change his legal identity from male to female without success.
He sued before the European court when he was told that it would not be possible so long as he remained married, because Finland does not allow persons of the same sex to marry each other. Hämäläinen and his spouse insist that their religious beliefs prevent them from seeking a divorce and that civil unions do not give them the same benefits as marriage in Finnish law.
The European court was unequivocal. It not only said that European human rights law does not contemplate same-sex marriage, it said that civil unions are good enough for same-sex couples.
Click "like" if you want to defend true marriage.http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-can-defend-marriage/283510724992776
The court confirmed that the protection of the traditional institution of marriage is a valid state interest—implicitly endorsing the view that relations between persons of the same sex are not identical to marriage between a man and a woman, and may be treated differently in law.
The judgment says that European human rights law recognizes the “fundamental right of a man and woman to marry and to found a family” and “enshrines the traditional concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman.” It explains how no European consensus on same-sex marriages exists, as only 10 of the 47 countries bound by the treaty allow such designations.
The ruling is a particularly hard blow to gay rights in Finland, where a parliamentary committee rejected same-sex marriage before it could be brought to a vote last month for the second time since 2012. Finland is the only Scandinavian country that does not allow same-sex marriage.
Around the world gay activists have been told that same-sex marriage is not a human right.
The Italian Constitutional Court was faced with almost identical facts only last month. That court also said that civil unions would be adequate to protect the interests of the same-sex couple in that case.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to say that marriage between persons of the same sex is a right under the U.S. Constitution or international law last year. In a case involving a law that prohibited the U.S. federal government from recognizing marriages between persons of the same sex, the Court ruled that individual states may decide whether or not to allow individuals of the same sex to marry each other.
Why would the car accident be God's fault? Do you think there are not any gay Christians?
What exactly is your answer?
:nurse: :sickr:
Less is more baby!
Quality over quantity
Merkel says she wants Greece to stay in euro zone, but bailout terms must be honoured
Germany’s Angela Merkel has played down the chances of a Greek exit from the euro zone, but made clear she expected Athens to stick to the terms of its international bailouts after this month’s election.
The chancellor addressed the issue on Wednesday for the first time since a German magazine said at the weekend her government had shifted its stance and was ready to accept a “Grexit” if Athens failed to meet its commitments under EU/IMF rescue packages totalling 240 billion euros (HK$2.2 trillion).
The leader of the left-wing Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras, has pledged to reverse reforms and secure debt forgiveness from Greece’s partners if he wins the election. Syriza currently holds a narrow lead over the centre-right New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.
“I as German chancellor, and also the German government, have always pursued a policy of Greece staying in the euro zone,” Merkel told a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
She said she had “no doubts whatsoever” that the Greek situation would be brought to a “successful conclusion”, but stressed Athens needed to continue to respect its commitments if it wanted its partners to show solidarity.
German officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that scenarios, including a possible Greek exit, were being examined by technical experts in the government.
As they plan for a possible clash with a new Greek government over bailout terms, they are also exploring a political compromise with the Syriza leader should he take power after the January 25 election.
The officials say they view the chances of a so-called “Grexit” as extremely slim and express confidence the euro zone could clinch a deal with Tsipras if he wins and is able to bring together a ruling coalition, which is far from certain.
“He needs to win first and then form a coalition. It will take a while,” one senior official said.
“This is not about the survival of the euro zone, but finding a politically acceptable compromise.”
Joerg Asmussen, a deputy labour minister and former member of the European Central Bank’s executive board who had extensive dealings with Greece at the height of the euro zone crisis, knows Tsipras and has kept in touch with him, people familiar with the matter said.
Although any formal negotiations with Tsipras are seen as premature before the outcome of the election is clear, there is a sense in both Berlin and Brussels that if he wins, a deal would be possible.
Outright debt forgiveness is being ruled out, but an extension of Greece’s EU loans beyond 30 years appears to be an option EU partners could accept.
“I don’t think Syriza would become a kamikaze party if they come to power,” said one euro zone official.
“They understand they cannot be completely crazy and have to take into account the realities of life.”
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 07 January, 2015, 6:52am
Grexit is back in the headlines again. The neologism denoting Greece's potential exit from the European monetary union provoked horror three years ago among policymakers and investors at the height of the global financial crisis.
The coming snap election in Greece on January 25, widely regarded as a referendum on the country's continuing euro-zone membership, has revived the prospect of such an exit.
But that possibility is no longer viewed with unmitigated horror as it once was. For sure, things could still turn ugly should that happen. That is why European stocks have been rattled in recent days. Coupled with plunging oil prices, which have fallen to below US$50 a barrel, global markets including those in Asia have taken a hit in the new year.
But European bailout funds and crisis-prevention tools put in place since the last Greek emergency have put the rest of the euro-zone countries in a much better position to defend against the fallouts from Grexit. Private funds previously exposed to Greece were withdrawn long ago.
The coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel still says it's committed to keeping intact the entire membership of the euro zone. But Germany, Greece's largest creditor and the euro zone's dominant leadership, has been signalling it is ready to live with Grexit as a not-too-subtle warning to Greek voters.
The result of an electoral victory for the leftist Syriza party would be demands for debt relief, restructuring payment obligations and easing agreed-upon austerity measures, none of which are acceptable to the Germans.
Three years ago, Greece was at the centre of European concerns because if it had gone down, it could have taken the rest of the euro zone with it. Today, its bargaining position is much weakened.
The Greeks are caught between a rock and a hard place. Continuing austerity would mean more hardships and delayed recovery. But a Grexit would spell even greater pain. The country's borrowing costs, already high, might not only shoot up - it could be denied access to the credit market. Reviving the old drachma would mean devaluation, and even lower living standards, though trade and the economy could revive more quickly.
Either choice spells pain for ordinary Greeks, but both outcomes may now be acceptable to euro-zone leaders.
4 January 2015
German chancellor Angela Merkel talks with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble prior to a vote on the federal budget, at the lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin November 28, 2014.
(Reuters) - The German government wants Greece to stay in the euro zone and there are no contingency plans to the contrary, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday, responding to a media report that Berlin believes the currency union could cope without Greece.
Gabriel, the Economy Minister and leader of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), also told the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung that the euro zone had become more resilient in recent years and could not be "blackmailed".
"The goal of the German government, the European Union and even the government in Athens itself is to keep Greece in the euro zone," Gabriel said in the interview to appear on Monday.
"There were no and there are no other plans to the contrary," he said, and noted the euro zone had become far more stable in recent years.
"That's why we can't be blackmailed and why we expect the Greece government, no matter who leads it, to abide by the agreements made with the EU," he said referring to the Jan. 25 Greek election and possible change of government.
Earlier a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, Georg Streiter, said the German government expects Greece to stick to the terms of its 240-billion euro EU/IMF bailout agreement.
Streiter declined to comment on a report in Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday that said Berlin had shifted its view and now believed the euro zone would be able to cope with a Greek exit, or "Grexit", if necessary.
Der Spiegel reported that Berlin considers "Grexit" almost unavoidable if the left-wing Syriza opposition party, narrowly ahead in opinion polls, wins Greece's election. Syriza wants to cancel austerity measures and a chunk of Greek debt.
But the report said that both Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble now believe the euro zone has implemented enough reforms since the height of its debt crisis in 2012 to make a potential Greek exit manageable.
In addition, the euro zone now has an "effective" bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), another source added. Major banks would be protected by the banking union.
As the euro zone's paymaster, Germany is insisting that Greece must stick to a course of austerity and not backtrack on its bailout commitments - especially as it does not want to open the door for other struggling euro zone members to relax their reform efforts.
Peter Bofinger, on the "wise men" council of economic advisers to the German government, warned against "Grexit".
"There would be many high risks for the stability of the euro zone with such a step," he told Welt am Sonntag. "It would let a genie out of the bottle that would be hard to control."
(This story corrects spelling of "Hannoversche" in second paragraph)
