FT: Greece will be rewarded if it implements harsh program

Tsipras-EU relations worse than Montagues-Capulets

Newspaper Financial Times believes that if Greek PM Alexis Tsipras presses forward with the implementation of the harsh austerity measures, Greece will eventually reap the rewards. In the piece the writer urges both Tsipras and his EU creditors-partners to leave the bitter past six months behind them and focus on trying to make the third bailout program succeed.

On the matter of the relationship between Tsipras and the EU the article says it makes the Montagues and Capulets from Shakespeare’s classic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ look like ‘bosom buddies’. It adds that the cost for Tsipras is high, as Greece’s creditors will not allow any room for flexibility. Tsipras must commit to deep reforms including liberalization of the labor market, privatization, fiscal discipline and deep reforms in the public sector.

As a reward to Tsipras, the Financial times believes the ECB will allow the purchase of Greek bonds in the context of its quantitative easing program, while once the reform program is on track, the European Commission will also release disbursements from its 2014-2020 growth package. If Tsipras shows a commitment to implementing the reform plan Greece will be in a position to request some debt relief, which the IMF has repeatedly agreed tom, says the article.