Time for Europe to Help the Greeks

GERMANY HAS proved its point: Promises matter, and Greece can’t simply walk away from its controversial 2012 bailout agreement, including the much-hated austerity measures that have thrown the nation into turmoil. That was the outcome of a dramatic, last-minute meeting on Friday in which the new Greek government, elected last month on an anti-austerity platform, capitulated on virtually all important points. Sticking to their left-wing campaign platform, it became clear, would have meant losing the bailout funds and, more than likely, being forced to leave the eurozone. Now that the Germans have made their point, though, they and the rest of the European Union must urgently address Greece’s humanitarian catastrophe. If they don’t, they may find the next Greek government far more threatening to European unity and ideals than this one.