German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said Wednesday that Greece has returned to the bond market under false pretences that shouldn’t be celebrated.
“Greece is seeing its return to the markets as the country’s return to normalcy. But the situation is a little bit different,” writes the newspaper’s Brussels correspondent, Cerstin Gammelin.
According to the article, the Greek return to the markets is a decision based mainly for the political purposes of boosting the flagging credibility of Greece’s coalition government and avoiding a new eurozone crisis. “If Greece, despite its massive debt, enters the markets, it will have an interest rate of 5% and an extended debt repayment period. This isn’t normalcy but an exceptional case,” Gammelin stresses.
The article continues: “The government majority under the conservative Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has fallen to 2 MPs. If his party loses at the local or Euro elections in May, this might lead to early parliamentary elections, which subsequently might lead to political instability and further crisis, which would also be a threat to the entire eurozone.”
The journalist assets that Greek government and politicians are hiding the truth from citizens and misleading them solely to get elected. “At this point, according to troika’s report, Greece will probably need a new loan of 16 to 17 billion euros until 2016, which will lead to a new bailout package. European politicians must be sincere and explain to the Greeks that their country will probably need a new bailout package. Angela Merkel’s visit to Samaras on April 11 might be a good opportunity for that,” Gammelin concludes.
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