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Top European Officials Say Greece has No Time for Elections

daiselblloom-junkerEuropean Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that the Greek government must not look into the elections option because there is no time to lose.
The two European officials said that the current Greek parliament must complete the bailout agreement with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) within the next two weeks so that there is timely disbursement of funds for Greece in order to meet its financing obligations in August. After that, Greece must get on the path of reforms that will lead to economic recovery. If Greece proceeds with reforms and fulfills its commitments, creditors can negotiate debt restructuring.
Review procedures on the progress of reforms will take until the end of October or November, thereby the Greek government must concentrate on that goal instead of going into snap elections in September or October, as several cabinet members said.
Even Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras does not exclude the possibility of snap elections in the autumn. He has repeatedly stated that if the majority of SYRIZA lawmakers do not vote for the new reforms, then he will be forced to resort to elections.
The two EU officials, who have worked very hard to achieve Greece’s third bailout, believe that 180 votes out of the 300-strong parliament would suffice for a government to proceed with the program. The 229 MPs who voted for the reforms suggest that the vast majority is in favor of the deal and the government can proceed with the reforms.
Yet, the disagreements within SYRIZA and the recurring talk of “blackmail” along with statements by Greek Ministers and MPs that the bailout program is doomed to fail and elections are unavoidable, have generated several questions in Brussels.
European officials do not understand why a government that is ony six months old wants to renew the people’s mandate. Also, Greece’s European partners wonder why the minority of leftist extremists in SYRIZA, who do not exceed 40 MPs, have such clout and why an all-party government is a taboo in Greece.
Also, another question that arises is what will the Greek people would be called to vote for in the snap elections. Will they vote on a rift with Europe and a return to the drachma?

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