The stalled and tenuous negotiations between the Greek government and institutional lenders have expectedly generated political reverberations in Athens, with a minister of state on Thursday accusing main opposition New Democracy party of “betting on destabilization”.
Minister Nikos Pappas expressed an opinion that the Greek economy is “stabilizing” and achieving primary budget surpluses without cuts in wages and pensions. He also asked, rhetorically, if ND believes extra contingency measures need to be taken, as demanded by the IMF.
In response, a ND spokesman said it was the leftist Greek government’s “ineptness and lack of credibility that fuelled the IMF’s excessive demands”.
Spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos also pointed to a “failed so-called ‘tough’ negotiations, which skyrocketed to 5.4 plus 3.6 billion euros” in austerity measures.
