It looked like that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras considered the snap elections scenario for Greece, as talks with the country’s international creditors did not produce an agreement. However, after a cabinet meeting he decided to hold a referendum instead.
Greek Media reported that the Greek PM confided to Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades that he was considering to call snap elections if no agreement with the creditors was reached.
Under Greek law, if a new vote is held less than 18 months after the last election, party leaders determine who’s on electoral lists. That gives him the power to keep dissenters from being re-elected.
Another member of the SYRIZA government, Labor Minister Panos Skourletis had said that Greece might have to call snap elections if the Greek government is called to sign an agreement that is outside its mandate.
“If Greece’s government faces dilemmas that are outside its mandate, it will turn to the Greek people to overcome them,” Labor Minister Panos Skourletis said in an interview with Mega TV on Friday.
Since January 25th that SYRIZA came into power, Greece and the creditor institutions – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – have not reached an agreement regarding Greece’s debt and economic reforms.
As the European part of Greece’s bailout is due to expire in just four days and with a debt repayment of 1.6 billion euros to the IMF on the same day, time is running out for Greece in order to avoid a default on its debt.
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