German Chancellor Angela Merkel only came to Greece on Friday for a six-and-a-half hour visit, but in doing so she did her best to lay to rest six years of economic misery by affirming the country had turned the corner.

She stood alongside Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to congratulate politicians and people alike for their sacrifices.

“I want to say that the government’s policies have led to many people suffering, and were very hard for the government to implement, but now we can see Greece keeping its promises, fulfilling its obligations, and the budget situation is better than we could have wished for or expected,” she said.

Despite Merkel’s words of support her visit brought the left-wing opposition out onto the streets to protest. Many Greeks blame much of their economic plight on Germany and its insistence on austerity as the price to pay for economic aid.