Merkel ally urges Greece to present plan to 'stand on its own feet'

BERLIN (Reuters) - A senior lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives on Wednesday called on the new Greek government to present a strategy for how it wants to govern the country without the financial help from international lenders. "We expect the new government (in Athens) to fulfill its responsibilities and present a plan for how the country can stand on its own feet without permanent support from others," Norbert Barthle, spokesman on budgetary affairs for the conservatives in the lower house of parliament, told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper. He also refused to comment on an apparent softening of Athens' stance on a debt writedown and proposals for a new debt swap. "It hardly makes sense to comment on the Greek proposals because they are changing nearly every hour," Barthle said. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber,; Editing by Caroline Copley.)