×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Wednesday
04
Mar 2026
weather symbol
Athens 18°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Economy

Greek leftist “magic solutions” considered mumbo jumbo by critics

Greek Finance Minister G. Hardouvelis told the Financial Times that Greece is "treading a thin line", whereas SYRIZA deputy has come under fire for suggesting to issue more euros

Newsroom January 16 08:06

The Financial Times reports that Greece risks a cash crunch if the main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) party comes to power in the January 25 national elections. Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis has escalated tones over the last week regarding the possibilities of the country’s reserves running out of cash to make debt repayments in March if the leftists come to power. He has warned that a break with Greece’s international creditors could lead to chaos.

“I’m raising a flag because there is complacency about raising funds to pay our obligations and that complacency is not warranted,” said Mr. Hardouvelis in an interview with FT.

FT refers to a financial position that looks “dire” in Greece at the moment with reserves shrinking to just 2 billion euros while the country has already hit the ceiling permitted by the European Central Bank in outstanding treasury bills worth 15 billion euros. Mr. Hardouvelis states that Greece is “treading a thin line.”

SYRIZA1

>Related articles

The nightmare of the energy crisis returns: How gasoline and diesel prices are shaping up in the Greek market

Natural Gas jumps 20% as prices “soar” in Europe due to Middle East war

European markets in a war grip – Second day of significant losses

Mr. Hardouvelis is not the only opponent of SYRIZA’s plans for the economy. Apart from FT’s focus, other critics state that the opposition is promising “magic solutions” such as SYRIZA candidate Rachel Makri, in a public television interview, who said that (a) there won’t be a Grexit because this is not authorized by the eurozone conditions, (b) should Greece not get its 7.5-billion-euro installment then it can turn to the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) and that (c) Greece will issue another 100 billion euros when the total amount of euros issued per year in the entire eurozone comes to 880 billion euros.

A number of deputies have criticized Ms. Makri for the absurdity of her suggestion regarding printing more money with SYRIZA deputy Nikos Chountis refusing to comment further after clarifying that this was not the official party line even though a similar initiative had been taken in Ireland. On his part, SYRIZA deputy Dimitris Papadimoulis asked for deputies of his party to not make comments unless they are certain of the validity of these.

Another matter of confusion is the single property tax (ENFIA) and SYRIZA’s interest in abolishing this tax.

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

> More Economy

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Cyprus: Half of the passengers on the flight returning from Larnaca to Athens chose not to fly again

March 4, 2026

Italian frigate mission to Cyprus on the table at emergency meeting convened by Meloni

March 4, 2026

Alert on the coasts of Sri Lanka: Submarine strikes Iranian frigate, at least 101 missing

March 4, 2026

PM Sánchez stands firm against Trump: “You cannot play Russian Roulette with the fate of millions, we will not be intimidated by threats”

March 4, 2026

“Strikes will continue for 2 weeks,” warns the Israeli army; ceremony for Khamenei postponed (updated)

March 4, 2026

Mitsotakis: Greece is present with force wherever national duty calls; the mission in Cyprus is defensive and peaceful (updated)

March 4, 2026

Giorgos Fragkoulis proposed to his partner Aryna Sabalenka

March 4, 2026

Golden Dawn: 42 defendants found guilty again by the Court of Appeal, as in the first trial

March 4, 2026
All News

> Politics

Italian frigate mission to Cyprus on the table at emergency meeting convened by Meloni

Italy considers deploying naval and air defense assets to protect Cyprus over Middle East tensions

March 4, 2026

Mitsotakis: Greece is present with force wherever national duty calls; the mission in Cyprus is defensive and peaceful (updated)

March 4, 2026

Macron: We are sending additional aircraft and a frigate to defend Cyprus

March 3, 2026

Grigoris Afxentiou: 69 years since the Greek Hero’s death (video)

March 3, 2026

PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke with Netanyahu & Lebanese President Aoun about developments in the Middle East

March 3, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα