Despite an incoming influx of 54.5 billion euros ($69 billion) in more rescue loans from international lenders as part of a second bailout of 130 billion euros ($173 billion) Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said there’s still a chance that the economy could fail and the country be unable to pay what it owes.
The new loans led to the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s raising the country’s credit standing by six notches, but Stournaras said he’s fearful that rising social unrest could unsettle the deals with the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB).
“We can make it next year if we can stick to the program agreed with the EU and IMF,” Stournaras said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Dec. 20. “The break would be if the political system finds the situation too difficult to handle,” he said, as Greeks are furious over another round of austerity measures aimed squarely at workers, pensioners and the poor while tax evaders and the rich continue to escape sacrifice.
Stournaras stressed that the government now has to focus on implementing the structural reforms it has agreed with its lenders. He said the main goals next year are to crack down on tax evasion, meet privatization targets and improve conditions for investors, pledges that have been repeatedly made and broken by previous administrations.
He said he minister sees the country’s recession, heading into a sixth year, easing toward the end of 2013 if the uneasy coalition can remain intact. “There will be a light showing by the end of next year,” he told the FT. “It is going to be a very difficult year . . . but if we continue on this track, reduce the budget deficit and also complete measures to improve competitiveness, 2014 and 2015 will be much easier.”
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