Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is pinning his hopes on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he is due to meet in Berlin on Friday. Merkel, however, has already said that financial support for the debt-stricken country will not be on the agenda.

It is one of the most sensitive subjects in Berlin: aid for Greece. One wrong word by a top German politician and the already nervous markets could become even more jittery. Instead, politicians are keeping their mouths shut and holding their breaths.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday in Berlin. Given the tense situation, the meeting promises to be explosive. As a precautionary measure, Merkel has already said that financial support will not be on the agenda.

Instead, the meeting is an attempt to make sure the Greek government stands by its obligation to gain control over its budget deficit through spending cuts. On Wednesday, Papandreou announced new austerity measuresin Athens. The mood in Greece is tense. Under the proposals, wages will be reduced, taxes will be raised and gasoline prices will go up - measures that are guaranteed to drive the unions into the streets to protest against the recently elected Socialist government.

The administration in Berlin is conscious of the Greek government's difficult situation and is praising its efforts, which Merkel has called "the right step," saying that it will help strengthen the markets' confidence in Greece and the euro. She also points out that the austerity measures are unavoidable.

Merkel and the members of her coalition government know that it is not just Greece but the stability of the euro that is at stake. For weeks, the common currency has been burdened by fears of a national bankruptcy in Greece, whose total debt is likely to reach about 120 percent of its gross domestic product in 2010.