The increasingly beleaguered Tsipras government is now reportedly looking towards the prospect of a summit of Euro zone countries, in the wake of a widely reported statement – quoting an unnamed EU official – that Greece should only expect a conclusion of the second review of the Greek program at the June 15 Eurogroup.
The possibility of a debt relief package, which emerged as a much-coveted goal for the current government in a bid to reverse its imploding popularity, appears fleeting.
“Such leaks by European officials – unintentionally – help us greatly,” was the response by equally unnamed Greek government sources.
The statement, via the preferred method of a “non paper”, added that “they (EU officials) unburden us from the dilemma of accepting or rejecting the proposed (debt) solutions at the Eurogroup, which of course is not an institutional body, so that we can proceed to a summit,” the same sources said. The reference to “institutional” nature of the Eurogroup rehashed previous criticism by the Greek side, namely, that the Eurogroup is not formal decision-making institution.
Conversely, in a public statement, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos was quoted on Friday as calling on powerful German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to stop blaming Athens and to move towards progress in the Greek program.
“Mr. Schaeuble is doing his job; what he thinks serves his country’s best interests… I think it would be best if he stopped blaming the Greek side. It’s well-known who bears the responsibility for failing to achieve an agreement at the previous Eurogroup …” was the Greek spokesman’s comment.
Tzanakopoulos also referred to “low-to-medium” level EU officials, advising them to not speak anonymously and to “listen to their superiors” .
Among others, Schaeuble dismissed the need to enact medium-term debt relief now for Greece, while even charging that the current government’s measures have more drastically affected the weaker socio-economic strata in the country.
The widely circulated quote by the EU official held that the ECB will not proceed with its own debt sustainability analysis, thereby delaying the possible re-inclusion of Greek bonds in the Euro zone central bank’s QE stimulus program.
On its part, main opposition New Democracy (ND) called on Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to be more careful when he jokes about “debt”, after the latter’s reference to a “fez” — Ottoman-era headwear that in modern-day Greece metaphorically refers to a “surcharge” or “outstanding debt”.
Tsipras laughingly told reporters on Friday morning that the “issue is not whether he’ll wear a tie (marking the achievement of debt relief) but not to be burdened with a ‘fez’.”
“.. with his (Tsipras’) ineptitude and (ideological) obsessions he’s piled onto Greek citizens tens of billions of euros (in more debt) over the past two years,” ND charged.
