The IMF spokesman on Thursday said the Fund “will seek assurances” from Greece’s main opposition party New Democracy, assuming the former remains in the bailout.
Speaking at a regular press briefing in Washington D.C., spokesman Gerry Rice nevertheless avoided taking a specific position on the issue, which IMF watchers view as indecision on the part of the Fund on whether it will rejoin the program after 2018.
While the current third bailout ends in August 2018, creditors want austerity measures enacted now in order to guarantee that fiscal targets are met after 2019. However, scheduled elections in Greece are set for 2019 – assuming snap elections aren’t held earlier. If current opinion polls prove accurate, center-right New Democracy will emerge as the first-past-the-poll party, with ruling SYRIZA today garnering between 18 to 15 percent of respondents’ preferences.
As such, a ND government or a ND-led coalition would be called on to implement whatever austerity measures are taken now.
In a later reaction from Athens, a ND announcement emphasized that “the country’s problem isn’t the opposition’s stance but the incompetence, the irresponsibility and the lack of credibility on the part of the government.”
A party statement added that the IMF spokesman’s comment showed that the Tsipras government wants the IMF involved in the bailout, while accusing the leftist government of lying when addressing Greek public opinion.
