Tsipras Says Greece Will Not Go Back to Austerity Policies

The country’s newly elected left-wing leader said he has a road map and alternative plans to address any situation with his international creditors.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Monday that his country will not accept any return to the austerity policies imposed by creditors.

“The key for an honorable compromise is to recognize that the previous policy of extreme austerity has failed, not only in Greece, but in the whole of Europe," Tsipras said in an interview with a local newspaper.

The newly elected left-wing leader insisted that he will reach a deal with the so-called troika of creditors (European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank) in order to keep the country's crisis-hit economy afloat. Tsipras added that he has a road map and alternative plans to address any situation with his international creditors.

On Jan. 25, Tsipras led the left-wing Syriza party to victory in a snap general election, receiving 36 percent of the vote and 149 out of the 300 seats in the Parliament. Syriza surged in popularity, pledging an end to austerity measures, especially the terms in the renegotiation of Greece’s US$252 billion twin bailouts.             

In February, the Tsipras administration reached a four-month loan extension agreement with its eurozone creditors following a series to tense meetings with the German and French finance ministers and the chief of the IMF. However, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said recently that the country could be forced into fresh elections or a referendum if eurozone finance ministers reject plans to ease austerity.

The Greek government is set to pay today a US$611 million tranche of its loan, which is due Monday. “The payment will go out later today,” official sources said. Nonetheless, Tsipras’ government will still have to repay another US$369 million to the IMF by Friday.

Greece has been experiencing a deep political and economic crisis for the past five years, with unemployment soaring to 25 percent. The economy has shrunk by a quarter since the start of the eurozone crisis.

Syriza's triumph has sent shock waves around Europe, sending international media into a frenzy but raising the hopes of progressive groups on the continent.

(Πηγή: www.telesurtv.net)