Tsipras, the maverick Greek Prime Minister, did not manage to do a Mintoff, after all his efforts, grandstanding and brinkmanship.
Mintoff had taken negotiations with the British government to the brink and managed to get a better deal at the eleventh hour plus one. Tsipras took negotiations with the other national leaders of EU member states to the brink as well. He rejected a proposed deal. He held a referendum to get the popular support for the rejection of the same proposed deal. The people gave him massive support. Armed by this popular vote Tsipras went to Brussels but only managed to sign for a deal much worse than the one he had refused for being unacceptable!
The words of Bishop Franghískos Papamanólis, president of the Greek Catholic bishops’ conference, about Tsipras could have been seen as harsh but it turned out that Papamanolis was correct in describing Tsipras an “incompetent” that brought his nation on the brink of financial collapse.
The Catholic bishop lambasted the Socialist-led Government of Alexis Tsipras for mismanagement of the crisis.
“The harsh reality we cannot ignore is that Greece cannot get anywhere without the European Union,” said the Bishops’ Conference president, Archbishop Frangiskos Papamanolis of Syros and Santorini. “But I have to say with regret that the past six months have been a waste of time, since our Government hasn’t understood the situation. Tsipras inherited a very bad situation. But he also won the election with promises he could not keep.”
In comments made to Italy’s Servizio Informazione Religiosa news service Archbishop Papamanolis mooted the idea of the formation of a government of national unity as a possible way for his country to gain confidence.
Bishop Dimitrios Salachas, apostolic exarch for Byzantine-rite Catholics in Greece, also spoke to the Italian news agency, SIR. He said that “our leaders will take into account the obligations that Greece has the debtor country and how this money borrowed was spent”. He appealed for a sustainable solution that would not lead the people to ruin.
The Catholic Church is a very small entity in Greece comprising just three per cent of Greece's population of 11 million. But the Catholic bishops take an active role and comment on issues of national importance as can be seen from the above comments.
It is not known whether the Greek version of l-Orizzont went ballistic against Bishop Franghískos Papamanólis as the local l-Orizzont is going ballistic against Archbishop Scicluna for his comments about Zonqor and other issues on the national agenda.