Tsipras Sells Betrayal of His Campaign Promises to Greece

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who came to office six months ago pledging to end austerity and restore “dignity” to the Greek people, now plans to sell an onerous bailout deal at home by arguing it could have been much worse.

   That was the message Tsipras delivered Monday morning in Brussels after all-night talks with European leaders. They resulted in plans for large-scale asset sales, tax hikes and spending cuts, many of which must be approved by parliament right away. The agreement, he said, would avert “a collapse of the financial system” and, most importantly, keep Greece in the euro, which the premier calls his No. 1 goal.

   Tsipras is seeking to implement measures even harsher than those rejected by Greek voters in the July 5 referendum on austerity -- which he himself called after the previous round of discussions. To succeed, he may need to begin by shoring up his own party ranks.

   “A government reshuffle is in the cards, probably with Tsipras as prime minister and support from opposition parties,” said George Pagoulatos, a professor of European politics and economy at the Athens University of Economics and Business. More than 30 members of parliament from the left wing of Syriza could abandon him, Pagoulatos said.

   The plan, agreed to by Greece and the leaders of the 18 other euro countries, requires a level of austerity that Tsipras’s Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, will find difficult to swallow.

Πηγή: bloomberg.com