Majority of Germans support Merkel on Greece: poll

The survey, published on Tuesday, revealed that 55 percent of those asked by Forsa for Stern magazine believed Angela Merkel's behavior towards Greece during discussions over a new bailout deal was correct. Almost one-third of the 1,001 people surveyed said they would have preferred the Chancellor to have forced Greece out of the euro.

Happiest with Merkel is the opposition Green party, with two-thirds saying they supported her position. Among her own Christian Democratic Union members, the figure was 66 percent while 62 percent of members of coalition partner Social Democrats also backed her stance.

However, 81 percent revealed they had serious doubts whether Greece would implement the agreed measures, with just 14 percent saying they believed they would.

Monday saw Eurozone leaders finally come to an agreement over a third bailout program for Greece. It means Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras now faces getting several austerity reforms through the country's parliament, including many that his left-wing Syriza party had promised to scrap when they clinched power in January.

Merkel and Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble reportedly took a hard-line stance during the marathon talks, clashing with Greece over several points. Schäuble publicly criticized Tsipras' approach to the talks, saying his government had "destroyed all confidence."

A separate poll completed the previous week found that Merkel's approval rating remained high at 56 percent, with support for the Conservatives unchanged.

an/jil (dpa, AFP)