Alexis Tsipras is showing the example to the European leaders by his paradigm of remaining stable on his “red lines” strategic, and by resisting to the “irrational strategic of the loop” the creditors have applied to Greece, wrote today the editor of economic newspaper « La Tribune »Romarik Gkonten, commenting on the Greek PM’s article on Le Monde and stating openly that Alexis has turned successfully the the game upsidedown
Creditors had hoped, says Gkoten, that “that the more the noose would be tightenend, and ecnomic aspuxiation of Greece would be growing, the more Greek resistance would be reduced. But the opposite happened!
In his article Alexis Tsipras shows decisive, the author of La Tribune notes. He starts his article on Le Monde by denouncing the stalemate policies of the previous governments imposed by the troika, he remonded then the retreats accepted by his governmenet and concludes by saying clearly he retains “red lines”. “By this attitude, Gkoten underlines, Alexis Tsipras’ has completely reversed the situation “It is now that Greece should not ‘beg’ for an agreement (…) but its the creditors that should realize the reality of the Greek decline and its economy that has” been bled from their own block. “
(…) This tactical move of Alexis Tsipras is particularly smart. From here on, it is the one who puts the rules of the game …. , the author goes on .
Greece’s solution and Europe’s future lies in the leaders’ hands, said Alexis Tsipras on his article on Le Monde :
“The lack of an agreement so far is not due to the supposed intransigent, uncompromising and incomprehensible Greek stance,” Alexis Tsipras wrote on May 31 on his article on Le Monde . “It is due to the insistence of certain institutional actors on submitting absurd proposals and displaying a total indifference to the recent democratic choice of the Greek people.”
“Greeks voted for a change by a courageous decision “
On 25th of last January, the Greek people made a courageous decision. They dared to challenge the one-way street of the Memorandum’s tough austerity, and to seek a new agreement. A new agreement that will keep the country in the Euro, with a viable economic program, without the mistakes of the past.
The Greek people paid a high price for these mistakes; over the past five years
- the unemployment rate climbed to 28% (60% for young people),
- average income decreased by 40%, while according to Eurostat’s data,
- Greece became the EU country with the highest index of social inequality.
- Public debt soared from 124% to 180% of GDP, and despite the heavy sacrifices of the people, the Greek economy remains trapped in continuous uncertainty caused by unattainable fiscal balance targets that further the vicious cycle of austerity and recession.
The new Greek government’s main goal during these last four months has been to put an end to this vicious cycle, an end to this uncertainty.
“Let me present the truth, on what Greece has done “
Many, however, claim that the Greek side is not cooperating to reach an agreement because it comes to the negotiations intransigent and without proposals.
Is this really the case?
Because these times are critical, perhaps historic–not only for the future of Greece but also for the future of Europe–I would like to take this opportunity to present the truth, and to responsibly inform the world’s public opinion about the real intentions and positions of Greece.
“These are Greece’s real intentions”
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One of the key aspects of our proposals is the commitment to lower – and hence make feasible – primary surpluses for 2015 and 2016, and to allow for higher primary surpluses for the following years, as we expect a proportional increase in the growth rates of the Greek economy.
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Another equally fundamental aspect of our proposals is the commitment to increase public revenues through a redistribution of the burden from lower and middle classes to the higher ones that have effectively avoided paying their fair share to help tackle the crisis, since they were for all accounts protected by both the political elite and the Troika who turned “a blind eye”.
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From the very start, our government has clearly demonstrated its intention and determination to address these matters by legislating a specific bill to deal with fraud caused by triangular transactions, and by intensifying customs and tax controls to reduce smuggling and tax evasion.
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While, for the first time in years, we charged media owners for their outstanding debts owed to the Greek public sector.
In other words, the oligarchs who were used to being protected by the political system now have many reasons to lose sleep.
“So, let’s be clear:…”
The lack of an agreement so far is not due to the supposed intransigent, uncompromising and incomprehensible Greek stance, but due to to the insistence of certain institutional actors on submitting absurd proposals and displaying a total indifference to the recent democratic choice of the Greek people, despite the public admission of the three Institutions that necessary flexibility will be provided in order to respect the popular verdict.
Flexibility to be shown by Institutions, was emphatically underlined by the White House
Speaking at the London School of Economics last week, Jack Lew fueled speculation with his “greater flexibility” comment that the U.S. was hintingthat the three financial institutions should renegotiate the terms under which they rescued Greece from debt and forced exit from the euro currency.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained at the regular Wsked by the instithite house Press Conference one day before Alexis Tsipras article was pubished on Le Monde, that “That’s not in anybody’s interests. And he’s hopeful that all the parties will be able to sit down in good faith and broker an agreement that satisfies their concerns.”
“Obviously the IMF has been a part of the conversations here,” replied President Barack Obama’s top spokesman, “These kinds of multilateral institutions such as the IMF have a role to play. The IMF has provided significant assistance to Greece and what Secretary Lew was urging was for all the parties to come to an agreement that doesn’t cause undue turmoil in the financial markets.”
“The problem with the IMF renegotiating is that there are many players involved,” Desmond Lachman, American Enterprise Institute scholar and onetime deputy policy director of the IMF, told Newsmax, “A lot of its shareholders would have to go along with any refinancing and already, a lot of them aren’t happy campers over the way the Greek bailout has gone.”
Tsipras: “Two oposite strategies for Europe’s Present and Future”
Greece is the very epicenter of conflict between two diametrically opposing strategies concerning European unity and its future, the Greek PM in his article concludes; The first, that aims to deepen European unification , and the second that works for the beginning of the creation of a technocratic monstrosity that will lead to a Europe entirely alien to its founding principles.
The first step to accomplishing this( second strategy version) is to create a two-spewo ed Eurozone where the “core” will set tough rules regarding austerity and adaptation and will appoint a “super” Finance Minister of the EZ with unlimited power, and with the ability to even reject budgets of sovereign states that are not aligned with the doctrines of extreme neoliberalism.
For those countries that refuse to bow to the new authority, the solution will be simple: Harsh punishment. Mandatory austerity. And even worse, more restrictions on the movement of capital, disciplinary sanctions, fines and even a parallel currency.
Solution in the Leaders’ hands: “For whom the bell tolls” (…Mr. Schauble-?-)
Europe, therefore, is at a crossroads Alexis Tsipras concluded . Following the serious concessions made by the Greek government, he emphasised, the decision is now not in the hands of the institutions, which in any case – with the exception of the European Commission- are not elected and are not accountable to the people, but rather in the hands of Europe’s leaders.
For those who want to believe that this decision concerns only Greece, they are making a grave mistake. I would suggest that they re-read Hemingway’s masterpiece, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”.
For the editor of «La Tribune», Alexis Tsipras’ article is a direct call to Angela Merkel:
“The criticism of the intransigence of creditors expressed by the Greek PM, is actually a criticism towards Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who never hid his preference for Grexit”, La Tribune on June 1 wrote
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