Main Opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) party economic policy maker Yiannis Dragasakis said that his party recognizes Greece’s loan agreements and public debts, however wants adjustments made to both. Speaking at the Economist Conference on Tuesday, the senior economist of the anti-austerity party said that the possibility of recovery for Greece is limited due to its debt that is 175% of its national output at nearly 320 billion euros ($371 billion).
His party hopes to tread the delicate line between fiscal diligence and debt forgiveness in a plan to renegotiate the country’s multi-billion bailout deal with the troika of international creditors from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We recognize that the country is bound by loan agreements but we want these to be reviewed,” he said during the conference, arguing that his party wants there to be “change” in Europe, not “destruction.” He said that SYRIZA is interested in discovering how Greek debt was created and in entering negotiations over it.
IMF Chief Christine Lagarde on Monday warned that there would be “consequences” for countries changing the terms of their agreements. On his part, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said that any country that wants the European Stability Mechanism’s support would need to agree to the troika’s supervision.
During his Economist Conference speech, Mr. Dragasakis said:
* There will be a new government with SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras at the helm.
* Once in government, SYRIZA would recognize that there are loan contracts that the country is bound by but it wouldre-examine these.
* The country has huge debt, but the party wants to scrutinize where this debt came from.
* The memorandum consists of a series of letters of intent from the government and are not a commitment, but it was enforced by blackmail.
* SYRIZA will ask for time from its European partners so that it can present its plan that includes a new fiscal program that would be focused on Growth and would include a proposal for debt.
* SYRIZA respects the EU institutions even in cases where it disagrees and there is no Greek-German difference.
Speaking to Proto Thema, Mr. Dragasakis said that the elections have occured so that policies can change. “That is the difference between democracy and dictatorship, and they are obliged to listen,” he said. He clarified that a SYRIZA government would not negotiate with Troika representatives and would investigate why 86% of loans received for Greece went to buying bonds.
