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PASOK is breaking down, the business insists on strict compliance with the measures

16 February 2012 / 22:02:55  GRReporter
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If the government had not adopted the second bailout agreement on Sunday, 12 February, Greece would not go bankrupt, nor would it leave the eurozone, said the former Minister of Economy and later Minister of Employment Louka Katseli. At a press conference, she explained that she had voted against the second memorandum because she believes it will speed up the process of uncontrolled bankruptcy of Greece. She thinks the measures changing the labour relations are unconstitutional and believes that Greece is the Trojan horse in the attempt of politicians to amend the rules of the labour market in Europe once and for all.

Louka Katseli was in the government of George Papandreou, when Greece hit rock bottom and had to take the first bailout. She said that at that time she had thought of the memorandum as an ordinary loan agreement, which subsequently proved untrue. According to her, under the pressure of an ultimatum "measures or bankruptcy," the parliament has adopted very tough reforms that have exacerbated the economic crisis and strengthened the recession. "It involves an unfair campaign to intimidate the citizens, in which the government and the Troika have been constantly waving Greece’s exit from the euro and the uncontrolled bankruptcy, provided that there is no statutory provision for such action." Katseli is certain that the second memorandum serves the needs of Greek institutional lenders (the countries of Europe and the European Central Bank) so that the country defaults when it is convenient for them rather than to declare suspension of payments itself. "There is no way to throw us out of the euro, even if they wanted to," was the leitmotif evident in Katseli’s speech. With this argument, she explained why the government should not agree with the terms of austerity cuts set by the Troika.

While the former minister was explaining why she made a U-turn in her views, her colleagues Evangelos Venizelos and Andreas Loverdos agreed on the opinion that PASOK needs new leadership immediately. They joined forces and nominated the current Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos the leader of the Socialist Party. All this happened while George Papandreou, who is still the president of PASOK for a short time (apparently), was on a visit to Israel as a guest of a local business forum. Members of the party described PASOK as a headless chicken that is wandering from side to side, and the senior deputy from the Socialist ranks Vasso Papandreou is clear that George Papandreou must finally cede his hereditary throne. Meanwhile, the serious differences of opinion between the parliamentary groups have turned out to be the reason for the cancellation of the meeting of political parties scheduled for Friday.

While the political situation in Greece remains unstable and the ship of Socialists continues to sway, the business elite in the country sees clearly what must be done. The economic analysis of Alpha Bank shows that if the country plays its cards right and strictly implements the measures set out in the second memorandum along with the PSI process, Greece can bring down its foreign debt to below 100% of GDP in 2020. So far, Europe’s forecasts are that after eight years with the new measures, the debt should reach 120% of GDP. The International Monetary Fund sees the situation in a darker light and expects the amount to be closer to 130% of GDP. Whatever the prospects for the debt crisis, bankers insist that the country should closely adhere to the specific economic plan. They say it is the only way to avoid the catastrophic consequences of uncontrolled bankruptcy.

Tags: PoliticsCrisisKatseliVenizelosLoverdosPASOK
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