Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out at Greece’s creditors yesterday, accusing them of trying to “humiliate” Greeks, as he defied a drumbeat of warnings that Europe is preparing for his country to leave the euro.
The unrepentant address to lawmakers after the collapse of talks with European and IMF lenders at the weekend was the clearest sign yet that the leftist leader has no intention of making a last-minute U-turn and accepting austerity cuts needed to unlock frozen aid and avoid a debt default within two weeks.
As the Austrian Chancellor flew to Athens to warn Tsipras of the gravity of the situation and senior German lawmakers openly discussed the once-taboo prospect of a ‘Grexit’ from the single currency area, Tsipras lambasted European and IMF policy.
“I’m certain future historians will recognise that little Greece, with its little power, is today fighting a battle beyond its capacity not just on its own behalf but on behalf of the people of Europe,” he said in a televised speech to legislators in his Syriza party, drawing rousing applause.
Tsipras charged that the lenders were politically motivated in demanding pension cuts and tax hikes that hurt the poor, and their aim was to “humiliate not only the Greek government – this would be the least important – but humiliate an entire people”.
The 40-year-old leader’s rhetoric left unclear whether he is preparing to default and risk economic collapse as the price of standing firm, or betting – wrongly according to the creditors – on a last-minute effort by Europe to save Greece.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has held repeated phone calls with Tsipras in recent weeks to press him to agree on reforms with EU/IMF negotiators, struck a despondent note, saying it was unclear if a deal could be found when eurozone finance ministers meet tomorrow in Luxembourg.
“Unfortunately, there is little new to report,” she told a news conference, repeating that Greece must meet its obligations.
“I have always said I want to do everything possible to keep Greece in the eurozone. I remain dedicated to that.”
Greece is set to default on a €1.6 billion debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund on June 30 unless it receives fresh funds by then, possibly driving it towards the exit of the eurozone.
That could begin if the government had to impose capital controls to stem a bank run and was obliged to pay wages, pensions and suppliers in IOUs because of a shortage of euros.
Lawmakers in Merkel’s conservative party and her centre-left coalition partners were more blunt than the Chancellor in warning that a Greek eurozone exit was on the cards.
I’m not so sure any more if the Greek government is really interested in averting damage for the people of Greece
“In the event a solid reform package is not presented, then a ‘Grexit’ would have to be accepted if necessary,” said Michael Grosse-Broemer, a senior lawmaker in Merkel’s Christian Democrats. “I’m not so sure anymore if the Greek government is really interested in averting damage for the people of Greece.”
Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila, whose country is among the most hawkish creditors, said it would take “a miracle” to reach a solution next week, but that was still everyone’s aim.
European Commission vice- president Valdis Dombrovskis said publicly that eurozone members were discussing what might happen if Greece failed to agree on a deal with lenders.
The bloc has no legal basis for forcing a country out, but Athens might end up with a de facto parallel currency, paving the way for a more formal exit from the euro.
Though all sides – Athens and the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF – want to avoid such a scenario, all have dug themselves into entrenched positions blaming the other side for the collapse of talks at last weekend.
There was little sign of public panic in Athens, but increasingly worried leaders of pro-euro opposition parties sought briefings from Tsipras and implored him to strike a deal swiftly to prevent an economic collapse.
“I called on the Prime Minister to consider that the Greek economy is desperately close to its limits,” Stavros Theodorakis, leader of the centrist To Potami party, the fourth-biggest in parliament said after meeting the Prime Minister.
He said Tsipras had assured him there were still “two or three” steps Athens could take to break the deadlock in the talks, provided the creditors also gave ground. The 17 lawmakers Theodorakis commands would vote for any deal in parliament that kept Greece in the euro, he added.
Faced with a backlash within Syriza over concessions sought by the lenders, the support of parties like Potami and the centre-left Pasok could prove crucial for Tsipras in voting through any deal.
Syriza, however, has ruled out such an option, saying an agreement must pass with the support of its own lawmakers.
Tsipras also met the new leader of Pasok as well as Dora Bakoyianni, a prominent figure of the conservative New Democracy party yesterday.
Today, he receives Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who said he had coordinated with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on the visit and hoped to head off a Greek exit from the euro.