Greece’s 11th hour deal: International creditors vs. internal dissent

Athens secured its agreement with its 18 EU peers late on Friday to extend the Greek bailout, but not everybody is happy about this

Just a few hours before sending its final message to its EU partners, the Radical Left Coalition scrambled on Sunday to come up with a list of proposed changes that would be acceptable by its international creditors on Monday in order to secure an 11th hour deal. Members within the party were angered that the government had caved in to Brussels’ pressure in order to avoid insolvency.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the (sole) concession made to Athens that would allow it to propose changes to the requirements agreed to with creditors by the previous Greek governments, but these would not be reduced.

The government hopes to meet its demands by cracking down on tax evasion and protecting those hit by the economic crisis. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Deputy Prime Minister Giannis Dragasakis will place the final touches on their plan by noon on Monday so as to present their four-month program to their EU partners.