Majority of Germans Opposed to Third Bailout for Greece: Poll

Berlin: More than half of Germans are opposed to a planned third bailout for Greece and the vast majority do not believe the Greek government will implement economic reforms, a survey by Forsa for newspaper Handelsblatt showed.

Just over a third of the 1,002 people polled thought it was right to support Greece with a new aid programme.

But 57 percent were against a further rescue and 84 percent said they did not believe the government in Athens would carry out reforms.

Having voted last month to accept reforms including tax hikes and spending cuts in exchange for 85 billion euros in fresh loans, the Greek parliament is due to vote in coming hours on the bailout agreement itself.

The Forsa poll also showed that 47 percent of Germans preferred Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's hardline stance on bailout negotiations with Greece to that of Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose more conciliatory approach 41 percent favoured.

Schaeuble, a member of Merkel's conservatives, has made clear his preferred solution is a Greek exit from the single currency bloc.

The German parliament needs to approve Greece's third bailout but it is not yet clear when the vote will take place. Some lawmakers have already signalled their intention to vote against the package.

In July the Bundestag lower house of parliament backed talks on a third aid package but almost a fifth of Merkel's conservatives voted 'no'.