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SYRIZA perceives bankruptcy as the supreme manifestation of national dignity

26 May 2015 / 16:05:31  GRReporter
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At a time when Greece is in the most critical situation since the crisis and the probability of it failing to repay one of the loans obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 5 June is great, cabinet members and SYRIZA MPs state that the country is not threatened by bankruptcy.

In an interview with Mega TV Deputy Minister for Social Security Dimitris Stratoulis even said that "the continuation of the memoranda is the most catastrophic scenario for the people." At the same time, he was clear that the non-payment of the loan to the IMF is "a supreme manifestation of responsibility and national dignity" on the part of Greece.

"If you announced in time that you would not pay there would be no credit event," Stratoulis added, stressing that since the state had no money, the priority of the government would be not to repay the loan but to pay the salaries and pensions, "as required by the UN Charter".

"There are always alternatives. There should be no terror. In the party, we discuss all options and all alternatives," said Stratoulis. He blamed Greece's creditors stating that "the only thing that interests them is the reduction of state financing of the social security system, not the invention of new sources of revenue."

In the same spirit, parliamentary representative of SYRIZA Thanassis Petrakos told SKAI Radio that Greece's creditors were more afraid of the probability of the country failing to repay the loan to the IMF. "They are very much afraid and confirm this," he said, adding, "The government will consider all options and take a collective decision. We are going to make it."

Earlier, Minister of Finance Yiannis Varoufakis said in an interview with CNN that Greece could not pay large loans to the IMF without an agreement with the creditors. He said once again that the country had received no funding from them for many months now which is why it survived with its own capabilities and thanks to the huge efforts made by its citizens.

"For four months we were paying our obligations and used up all the liquidity of the ailing economy. We cannot do this forever," said Varoufakis, who only a few months ago claimed that Greece would not need the creditors’ money.

At the end of the interview, he nevertheless expressed optimism that Greece and its creditors would be able to reach an agreement, urging "the institutions" (the supervisory Troika) to meet with Greece, covering a distance of one quarter of the path.

Meanwhile, in an interview with SKAI TV, SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Stratoulis said that if the government lost its majority while voting the austerity measures agreed with the creditors, Alexis Tsipras would have to call snap elections.

In addition, he was clear that "those members of SYRIZA who are not involved in the negotiations should stick to their job and not make things go wrong." According to Papadimoulis, the Greek cabinet is very close to reaching an agreement. "The political governance of Europe needs to undo the knots that the technocrats have discovered. The fact that Mr. Tsipras has good chemistry with Chancellor Merkel is a positive factor," he said.

According to Kathimerini newspaper correspondent in Brussels Eleni Varvitsioti, Greece's creditors do not share the optimism of the Greek government about a deal.

Tags: PoliticsSYRIZANegotiations with creditorsRepayment of a loan to the IMF
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