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The Greek government has announced that it will issue a bond with a 5-year maturity, four years after the outbreak of the financial crisis in the country. The official announcement states that the bond will be subject to English law.

According to sources, the Greek government intends to raise about 2.5 billion euro and Athens expects increased investor interest. A government source quoted by Reuters and Bloomberg international news agencies indicates that it would be a great success if the coupon to investors fell below 5.3 per cent.

Although the government presents the decision to issue securities as a great achievement, it is heavily criticized by many commentators in and outside Greece. Their main argument is that this is a very hasty move in view of the fact that the financial requirements of Greece are covered by the Troika loans, the interest rate of which is slightly below 2%.

Another concern of sceptics is that the government in Greece continues to not apply the structural reforms that will bring the economy back onto its feet. Their fears are that when the supervision by the lenders stops, the Greek government will return to the manner of governing used by it before the crisis and then Greece will again face the threat of sovereign default. The Liberals in Greece are critical towards the government's decision too. Only a day earlier, the party's candidate for the European Parliament and economist Antigone Lyberaki criticized the passivity and unwillingness of the government to change the modus operandi of the Greek economy. "Even if someone resolves all problems with a magic wand, we will soon be faced with the same problems if Greece is not reformed. Every contrary claim is a lie told  in the name of short-term political interests," she said.

It seems that international financial analysts do not unreservedly share the enthusiasm of Athens either. "Why shouldn’t the interest rate on new Greek government bonds be 3%?" economic analyst Zerohedge comments on Twitter.

"Where in the new Greek bond indentures does it say there is a security pledge in all the ECB's rehypothecated assets?" reads his next comment.

The government's decision provoked a storm of debate in parliament. Deputies from the main opposition SYRIZA party accused the government of using government finances for election purposes. Far-left parliamentary party representative Panagiotis Lafazanis said, "Since Greece will have no problems with funding over the next 12 months why are you in a pre-election hurry to appear on the financial markets for a loan at an interest rate of over 5% provided that the interest rate on the Troika loans is slightly below 2%?"

The sudden "love" of the leftists for the "bloody" money of the Memorandum provoked a lot of ironic smiles and funny discussions on social media. Political analysts, however, see panic about their political future behind their reaction. "SYRIZA and Independent Greeks received much public support because of the memorandum. It is quite natural for them to ask ‘Now what?’", a leading commentator told GRReporter.