Top government and ruling SYRIZA party officials met in the Maximos Mansion on Wednesday in a much-anticipated session chaired by PM Alexis Tsipras, a day after his government presented and won conditional support of a tax-for- cash deal with institutional creditors.
Tsipras and his top ministers have begun the difficult task of persuading the ruling party’s Parliament group — and public opinion — of the necessity for agreeing to the package, worth eight billion euros over 2015-2016. The eight-billion-euro target will be achieved primarily through tax hikes, increased VAT rates and increases in social security contributions by employed people.

According to reports, SYRIZA party’s political secretariat may also convene on Wednesday to determine a date for a central committee session, which is expected to focus exclusively on the Greek proposal.

Top ministers Nikos Pappas, one of Tsipras’ closest confidants, and Euclid Tsakalotos remain in Brussels for the Eurogroup meeting.

A non-leftist participant in Tuesday’s high-level meeting was Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, the outspoken leader of the junior coalition partner, the populist-rightist Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party. Kammenos, a career politician who emerged from the New Democracy party before bolting to form his own grouping, reportedly conveyed the attitudes of his MPs.

Mini summit in Brussels

Meanwhile, the MNI news agency in Germany reported that a new meeting between institutional lenders and Tsipras is set for Wednesday in Brussels.
He’s reportedly been joined by Jean-Claude Juncker, Christine Lagarde and Mario Draghi. A Eurogroup meeting in the Belgian capital is set to examine Athens’ proposals, followed by a Euro summit on Thursday and Friday.

Reactions by top SYRIZA cadres

Minister of State Nikos Pappas told a television news program that Tsipras “has been elected with a specific party, with a specific mandate, and as a result of a specific election formed a specific majority (plurality)”, warning that the Greek premier will not end up like the appointed premiers between 2011-2012.
MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis, meanwhile, said he was optimistic the package would pass Parliament.

Conversely, a deputy, Yiannis Miheloyiannakis, said two monthly wages are lost with the projected deal, while asking to see what growth component and debt restructuring it entailed.

Social Securities Minister Dimitris Stratoulis, speaking in Parliament, said “there’s one proposal that is being discussed, and, if there is an agreement or not depends on the country’s debt and the development model.”

Another MP, labor attorney Alexis Mitropoulos said “my personal position is that these measures cannot be approved, they are extreme and anti-social”.

Finally, noted far-left SYRIZA MP Costas Lapavitsas, a UK-based academic who hasn’t concealed his position in favor of Greece leaving the euro, told Die Zeit that “if the reforms are primarily comprised of austerity measures that negatively affect citizens’ daily lives, then there are significant political problems.”