Amid a barrage of mostly negative articles by the international press – especially by German media – on the Greek government’s efforts to secure a better deal with its creditors and end the austerity, some newspapers and magazines took a different approach.
One of those publications is The Nation, a leftist weekly US magazine, which chose to feature on the cover of its latest issue a picture of a hand holding a Greek flag with the title “Greece stands up.”
In an article supporting the efforts of the Greek government, The Nation’s journalist Maria Margaronis argues that the concessions Greece has already won since SYRIZA came to power could change the future of the eurozone.
The extensive article sheds light on the reasons that led to the victory of leftist SYRIZA party in the last general elections and presents an overview of the negotiations between the new Greek government and the country’s international creditors: the IMF, the ECB and the EC.
Specifically, the article notes that although “some in the left wing of Syriza are already furious at the concessions made, claiming that Tsipras has betrayed his promises,” Syriza needs both its far leftists and its radicals on board.
“Syriza has a double mandate to end austerity and restore lost rights, while staying in the eurozone. These things may well turn out to be incompatible, but polls show that around three-quarters of Greeks still want them both,” says The Nation.
Despite the fact that the negotiations with the eurozone will rumble on for months, the article underlines that “in the meantime, Syriza has won vital concessions: time, an end to the absurd demand for huge primary surpluses, and the right to design its own reform program.”
According to The Nation writer, this is a greater victory than it may seem at first, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the Greek government’s willingness to take a truly radical position, risking everything.
This stance has changed the future of the eurozone, the article stresses, as “cracks have begun to appear in the Berlin Wall” and “Germany’s hardline finance ministry has been forced to concede that politics can’t be separated from economics.”
