captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to "the journal" on dw tv. i am sarah kelly. >> and i am ben fajzullin. war political turmoil in greece as an election is announced. >> angela merkel invites a francois hollande to berlin. >> and germany get started for the playoffs but half the players are missing. >> the crisis that could force grease out of the eurozone -- greece out of the eurozone has been prolonged. >> the debt stricken nation has

no government. >> a new vote has been called, but that is not enough for the markets. >> they are at the lowest levels since the start of the year. >> the leaders of greece's main political party gathered. the radical leftist syriza turned it down karolos papoulias's suggests in of a technocrat government. after just one hour, it was clear the talks had failed again. a short time later, the leader of the socialist pasok party told the media the country was headed to fresh elections under "very bad conditions." now a caretaker government is expected to appointed -- to be

appointed on wednesday. opinion polls suggest syriza could emerge as the largest party in the new parliament. >> we now have our correspondent on the line from athens. we have just learned that syriza could gain more ground. what could that mean for athens? >> syriza, the leader of the party, his argument is greece should stop making its debt repayments and it should fully renegotiate the bailout effort. they would use the money gained by it stopping the debt repayments to restore pension mumbles and to hire back workers. -- pension levels and to hire back workers. that is not something that has gone well with greece's international lenders or the troika.

>> is this all? >> i do not think we are quite there yet. i do not think this will lead to greece leaving the eu. as a said, he wants to renegotiate the bailout deal. what you have going on is almost a game of bluff and double bluff. he is arguing it will cost the eu itself far too much for greece to leave them for them to stay. >> are you getting a sense that renegotiation would be possible? rhetoric has been strong on both sides. >> yes, well, situation where greece's international debtors have pretty much written off the books all the debt owed to them. it is held by the european central bank or greece's own

banks. the signals of brussels are starting to suggest that maybe, much -- just maybe, they could have extra time to come up with all the austerity measures that need to be instituted. you will see a capital flight from greece. since this crisis broke, $250 billion has been estimated to have left greece to overseas banks. that is the immediate danger. >> thank you very much. >> let's get the view from brussels'. are the eurocrats tearing there hair out -- their hair out over this? >> absolutely. it is the worst kind of political psychodrama. everyone is looking at all of the different scenarios covering

everything from throwing more money at greece to trading with the drug,. -- drachma. the powers that be in brussels are human like the rest of us. there comes a point in the specially educated people in politics say, frankly, we have not much more clue than you what to do. everyone is looking at the time table for a new election and what happens, if the new vote does throw up an even more determined anti-austerity result. because that would be the democratic results of an eu state. ken russell said, i am sorry, we don't care -- can brussels say, i am sorry, we don't care what the voters said? >> what about that money? what happens to the international bailout? >> right now, greece has not acted on its threats.

the austerity measures are technically ok. there is no reason to doubt that money. when there's a new anti- austerity government in power, big trouble. the money will stop flowing. greece will be in serious trouble, but also will the european union. >> thank you for the analysis. >> the new french president francois blonde is in berlin a few hours after being sworn into office -- francois hogan's is in berlin a few hours after being sworn into office. lightning struck his plane on the flight over and had to return to paris for a new one. is being described as a chance for the two leaders to get to know each other. for more, let's bring in our political correspondent, standing by in front of the chancellery. what can we expect from the talk between these two leaders?

>> the purpose of these talks is really to break the ice. they have never met in fact. you may remember that chancellor martell -- merkel made the mistake by backing the wrong horse in the french elections. hollande has made mistakes perhaps. he has promised french voters he would renegotiate the fiscal pact. it has been signed off on by 25 heads of government in the you and antelope -- in the eel, and -- in the eu and angela merkel has said no way. what he would like to have is a supplementary program of what he calls growth. >> could we see merkel budget on this? is there will room for her?

-- wiggle room for her? >> i think she will make concessions to him. there are many different definitions of economic growth policies. the social democrats, the opposition in germany, have put forward a plan which they have discussed with hollande, and they suggest things like cutting down on bureaucracy, using eu funds that are already there to combat youth unemployment. those are things merkel not be opposed to. she has discussed the eu policies with the spd all along. what she does not want to do is finance any growth policies by increasing debt. >> alright. thank you very much. will have more on the future of france in -- we will have more on the future of france and the eurozone later in the show.

>> but first to ukraine, where there is a delay in the conviction of former prime minister timoshenko. >> lost october, -- last october, she was found guilty of abuse of power in a trial that was seen by many as politically motivated. palestinians are marking what they call the day of the catastrophe. it is the exodus of thousands of palestinians from there homes after israel declared statehood in 1948. there have been clashes between palestinian youths and israeli soldiers. the israeli army is on high alert. >> 64 years after the creation of israel, about 1.5 million

palestinians live in refugee camps in jordan, syria, and 11 non -- lebanon, as well as the west bank. >> our correspondent visited one of the largest camps in the west bank. >> the refugee camp south of bethlehem was built in 1949 as a temporary refuge for fleeing palestinians. but today, it is nearly a city unto itself. this man runs a small shop here. he was just a child. >> we have land and belongings. we live like kings. -- lived like kings. we were very happy. now look how we live. we are suffering. every day, every hour. >> abraham runs a small cafe

next to his father's shop. he says he has had enough of the talk of the catastrophe. >> people keep asking us these questions and we keep answering the. all these foreigners come every day. they make films, take photos. we tell them about our pain. but the situation never gets better. it just gets worse. >> he says many people here feel forgotten. a third, even fourth generation have only ever known this camp. >> i am not very optimistic about the political situation, but some hope remains, even though it is dwindling giving the difficult conditions here. we still wish we could have our land back, but once you have lost something, you cannot get it back. >> the lost homeland, and little hope of change. that is a reality for the

palestinians in this camp. >> as you heard earlier, france 's new president in brussels. but he was bearing bad economic news from paris. >> economists blamed weak exports. >> by contrast, the german government -- the german economy had a strong first quarter. >> the people of france just aren't in the mood for spending. what is more, companies are holding back on investment and the demand for french goods abroad is falling. that all adds up to a poor quarter for the french economy, which is flat lining again. >it is the second tough year in a row. 2011 began with growth or france, but it was short-lived. now the economy is stagnating. things are different in germany. after a sharp downturn last

year, the economy has bounced back. the first quarter growth was a higher than expected 0.5%. >> we had great growth, and it just shows the reforms introduced 10 years ago are paying off. other countries like italy and spain should follow our example. >> but you're a pro economic problems get worse the farther south you go. -- but europe's economic problems it worse -- get worse to farther south you go. the situation is worse still in greece. official figures showed the economy retracting by some 6% since the year began. >> and our correspondent from the frankfurt stock exchange sent us this report about the market and how it responded to the latest economic data. >> the european economy is flat lining. it has not fallen into a recession. that has been the good news,

created quite a good mood on the frankfurt floor earlier this morning. is also a surprise that the german economy is still on a very strong growth path. but the political chaos in greece led to sharp downward movement of share prices, and not only share prices -- in the hopes there might be a recovery from yesterday's heavy losses, also the euro went down sharply at $1.28. >> thank you for the bad news. you can see that on the dax. let's get those closing numbers up for you. nothing to cheer about in red. the dax has been proving of little brazilian. homebuilder sentiment is positive. -- has been proving a little

resilience. we will be back. >> stay with us.

>> france as a new president and hours after being inaugurated, he was in berlin. is here that francois hollande has business to do with the german chancellor. >> france and germany has been reading the joint austerity drive across the eurozone. >> but one country after the next, governments have been falling. the voters are demanding a halt to the cutbacks. >> that is exactly what hollande wants. >> this was the crowning moment of francois hollande's little career. into the palace itself for the inauguration ceremony. -- hollande's political career.

>> your the 24th president of france. >> after the ceremony, he addressed guests and an outline for the platform that will shape his term in office. >> our differences must not be allowed to divide us. our diversity must not lead to conflict. our country needs reconciliation. >> he repeated his promise to put a stop to drastic cuts in federal spending and to take a two-track approach to solving the eurozone debt crisis. >> europe needs a plan. it means solidarity and growth. i propose a new economic pact to our economic partners, one that links the cuts need to make in debt levels to the stimulus measures that are also necessary. >> before the inauguration, he met briefly with outgoing

president nicolas sarkozy, who handed over the nuclear launch codes to the new president. banda two men came out onto the steps and -- then the two men came out onto the steps and exchanged pleasantries. francois hollande went straight to work. off to berlin for his first official investigation -- engagement. talks with chancellor angela merkel. >> and he has also appointed his prime minister. not long after being sworn in, he appointed the longtime leader of the socialist party and the mayor of a city. he also speaks fluent german. meanwhile, at eu finance ministers have agreed to tougher capital requirements for region

thanks. -- banks. >> the move is aimed at shoring up the financial sector of the debt crisis were to escalate. there has been increasing concern about the health of spanish and italian banks. just yesterday, moody's downgraded six italian banks. >> the banking association of italy called moody's downgrade an attack on the nation. italy faces a renewed recession. analysts say the move is going to hurt. >> it does not mean they are less inclined and less able to make loans to firms. so you have more recession, more bad loans, plus, more downgrades, because these banks were in the negative as well. >> in newark, tougher rules are

coming into effect for european banks. capital requirements will be increased to insulate the sector from recession. the minimal requirement will be 7%. britain pushed for and got the right for national banking authorities to raise that sum by another 5%. the european union estimates to meet the new requirements by 2015, banks will need some 84 billion euros of new capital. the deal still has to be passed by the european parliament. our meeting is scheduled for next month. -- are reading in scheduled for next month. >> hard times for the german steel industry. it lost some 600 million eurozone in the first quarter. >> falling demand for steel is one of the main reasons for the negative figures. but also there are problems with

overseas investment. >> the new plant in brazil has become a headache. its construction has been beset by delays and financial problems. so much so, the company is considering selling it come up another -- along with another u.s. plant. falling demand for steel means companies are working at below capacity. orders from heavily indebted southern european countries and car makers in france are down. is not the first time the german steel industry has suffered -- it is not the first time the german steel industry has suffered a setback. they took a downturn in 2009 in the midst of the financial crisis. the business picked up quickly. even if demand increases, it is likely to be some time before the industry recovers.

a surplus of steel on global markets is keeping prices and steelmakers' earnings down. >> other international news. this is the first time land targets have been hit in somalia. an eu are mad up -- armada is based off the coast of somalia. it aims to protect the region's crucial shipping lanes from pirate attacks. >> chancellor angela merkel is under pressure to change, and not just from the new french president. the opposition social democrats are adding there voice to the calls. >> 3 are saying that austerity is not enough and germany needs a concrete plans to boost jobs and growth. >> ahead of francois hollande's

visit, three social democrats voiced criticism of angela merkel. now riding the wave of the key regional win over the weekend. they are hoping the new socialist president in france will help make merkel change course. >> i'm glad he's coming today. i hope he does not bear a grudge. i think we have a chance to get the german government back to promoting growth in europe. >> and the recipe for growth includes a financial transaction tax and more liability for banks that engage in risky speculation, plus stimulus measures. merkel's conservatives say they intend to cooperate with the new

french president, but they do not think much of the spd proposals. >> they have lots of warmed up ideas. very little that is new and not much that is constructive. >> the spd troika is acutely aware that the budget crisis could be the issue that decides next year's elections. today's top talking may mark the beginning of there campaign. >> a russian space capsule is on its way to the international space station. it blasted off from a launch pad in causing son -- kazakhstan. there were two russians and one american on board. >> germany's most prestigious literature award -- the academy

for language and poetry says the winner's novels creates a universe of adventures and imposters. the ceremony will be in october. soccer news now and germany's preparations for next month are not quite going to plan. so far, half of the german players have arrived at there training -- their training camp in slovenia. >> that means the coach will have to wait a little bit longer for his team. >> these peacemakers -- pizzamakers have found the recipe for success. as they put on the toppings, they talk soccer, and german soccer in particular, because germany's team is training your. >> germany, yes germany. they will win. >> they are too tired to win a

european championship. >> the coach has only been able to work with 10 players so far. some have had injuries. the squad is still thin. >> you can give this a positive spin. we can work with the few individuals we have got. we can work on there fitness. there is no point complaining. >> the goalkeeper coach is missing the goalkeeper, but he has three backups. >> the first three days, we did not work with the ball at all. we just try to help them relax some and get them excited about playing again. >> the coaching staff want to focus on fitness first. boehner the importance of a firm base. -- they know the importance of a firm base.

these pizza makers would surely agree. >> i am sure they will be fine in the game. >> i am not going to go see them. >> that is even worse. >> it is going to be a good one. don't miss it. >> stay with us.