While Greece awaits a first series of $56.7 billion in more rescue loans from international lenders and is trying to buy back its bonds at a big discount to reduce its debt, the leader of the major opposition party has called for a conference of Eurozone leaders to solve fiscal problems afflicting other countries as well.
Alexis Tsipras of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) told the British newspaper The Guardian in an interview that the Eurozone needs the kind of post-World War II conference that was held to settle the debts of the vanquished Germany.
Tsipras, who vehemently opposes the bailouts and austerity measures, said the government’s plans are not working and that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is caving in to constant demands from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the biggest contributor to $325 billion in two bailouts.
“It is quite clear that the latest agreement was a compromise that will only perpetuate the uncertainty … Merkel has to say to her people before (the 2013 German) elections that the program is not working” he told the newspaper. “The only viable solution is a haircut not only for Greece but the entire southern periphery,” he said, including also hard-hit countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy.
“That is why we are proposing a conference along the lines of the one that took place in London in 1953, which relieved Germany of around 60% of its debt. We want to agree with our lenders on a credible solution. It doesn’t matter where it takes place but it should happen as soon as possible.”
Tsipras repeated his position that the current debt crisis in Greece and other parts of the eurozone could not be tackled through austerity. “When the crisis began in 2009 our debt stood at 120 percent of our GDP. This year it is projected officially to be 175.6 percent. And now they (EU-IMF) say that to make the debt viable we must hit 124 percent of GDP by 2020,” he said. “Let’s suppose they are right – but how do they want to get there? After 12 years of catastrophic austerity and measures totaling 19 billion euros Greece will have become a no-man’s land.”
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou accused Tsipras’s party of being duplicitous in its position on European issues, with part of SYRIZA advocating a return to the drachma. “Who was Mr Tsipras addressing with the pro-European face he wore (in the interview)?” said Kedikoglou in a statement. “Certainly not the SYRIZA factions that insist on showing faith to the drachma lobby,” he said.
SYRIZA is now the leading party in recent polls that show voters disenchanted with Samaras’ New Democracy Conservatives and his coalition partners, the PASOK Socialists and Democratic Left, which have backed more austerity measures, including another $17.45 billion in spending cut and tax hikes.
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