Galery

1

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras not only casts doubt on the view that the country's exit from the euro zone would be equal to a national catastrophe but he would possibly join the group of supporters of the drachma in SYRIZA, writes Konstantinos Zoulas in the Greek daily Kathimerini.

Leader of Potami (The River) Stavros Theodorakis shared this with his close associates after his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister. In his words, Tsipras considered the extension of the regime of budget cuts and the remaining in the euro zone almost equal to the return to the drachma. Then he literally said that Athens would not pay its loans to the International Monetary Fund if it did not reach a favourable agreement with its creditors by the end of the month. It is worth noting that a few hours after the news appeared yesterday and having realized the international response to it, the government sources denied it.

According to Stavros Theodorakis, however, most disturbing was the fact that, during the entire conversation between them, Alexis Tsipras constantly tried to downplay the dangers facing Greece. He went so far as to state that the probability of Greek banks closing for a certain period did not bother him, arguing that a very small number of SYRIZA voters had bank deposits.

The Greek Prime Minister was equally passive to the remarks of Stavros Theodorakis that Greece was on the verge of losing its few supporters in the European Union such as European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Alexis Tsipras not only downplayed the alarming warnings sent to Greece in recent days but also was adamant that ultimately, the creditors would not allow Greece to collapse. And just because they were afraid of the subsequent domino effect in the world economy.

After his meeting with Stavros Theodorakis, PASOK leader Fofi Genimata and Dora Bakogiannis of New Democracy, Alexis Tsipras addressed the parliamentary group of SYRIZA, stating that the real negotiations with creditors were just starting.

His words provoked a reaction on the other side of the Atlantic too. Late last night, the Greek Prime Minister received a call from US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew who stated that it was a matter of urgency for Athens to make a major step towards achieving a realistic consensus with creditors.

According to the spokesman of the US Department for the Treasury, Jack Lew warned Alexis Tsipras that "the likely failure to reach an agreement would create immediate hardship for Greece and broad uncertainties for Europe and the global economy."

Tsipras’ speech to SYRIZA MPs angered European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. In his statements to the media after the emergency meeting with Donald Tusk, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Martin Schulz and Mario Draghi in Brussels, he said, "I do not care about the Greek government, I care about the Greek people. It is telling the Greeks things that do not correspond to what I told the Greek Prime Minister."

The statement of President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz to Spiegel-online was in the same vein. He pointed out that "if Alexis Tsipras did not accept the fair proposal of the creditors he would commit a sin against his people and put at risk the whole of Europe."