Galery

1

Visibly tired and frustrated, Alexis Tsipras appeared in public for the first time after reaching an agreement with Greece's creditors on Monday morning. In an interview with the state television ERT, he said that after five months in the office of the Prime Minister he was convinced that the return to the drachma would have been a disaster for the poor Greeks and a triumph for the rich.

"We have agreed with the creditors but we have not signed a contract. We have agreed in the best possible way for Greece at present. But we have sown the seeds of democracy and rebellion and soon this seed will bear fruit. I am not fighting only for Greece, in the autumn Spain will also hold elections and a different government will come to power there as well," said the Greek Prime Minister.

He acknowledged that both left and right representatives criticised him but no one could accuse him of not trying everything. "We announced the suspension of payments to the International Monetary Fund. We held a referendum in which the majority of Greeks said "no" to the blackmailing by creditors. Nevertheless, I have assumed responsibility and continued the negotiations because exiting the euro has never been an option for me," said Alexis Tsipras.

The Greek Prime Minister could not avoid the "Yanis Varoufakis" topic. "Someone may be an outstanding economist and financier but this does not make him a good politician," said Alexis Tsipras, stressing that he still considers Greece’s former finance minister a personal friend. Regarding allegations that the personality of Yanis Varoufakis was the reason for the hard line of creditors to Greece, he said with irony, "Such an allegation is not serious. We are talking about an organized campaign against Greece." It appears from his words that the knight of this campaign is Wolfgang Schäuble.

In the interview that lasted more than an hour, Alexis Tsipras never challenged the European future of Greece, nor did he offer alternatives to the euro. He insulted no European head of state in person and his only personal attacks were focused on the German finance minister.

However, the Prime Minister admitted that he could not exclude GREXIT as possible, at least not until he signs an agreement with creditors. "Until then, we cannot change our strategy either," concluded Tsipras, thus leaving no doubt that he would continue his policy of dialogue with creditors, which is the only option that will guarantee Greece’s remaining in the European Union and the euro zone.