ECONOMY

Stournaras eyes debt talks in November

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has said that talks on Greek debt relief could start in November provided preliminary data show that the debt-wracked country can achieve a primary surplus in 2013.

In an interview with the Efimerida ton Syntakton on Saturday, Stournaras said that Greek society cannot tolerate any more across-the-board cuts to wages and pensions, adding however that there was still room for cost-cutting in the state sector.

Asked about speculation over early general elections, the minister said that an election would “make things more difficult” by “pushing back” the country’s reform program.

Meanwhile, the leftist opposition SYRIZA reacted to Stournaras’s comments Friday that the government is considering ending a moratorium on the auctioning of repossessed homes.

In a statement that dubbed Stournaras a “Schaeuble cheerleader,” SYRIZA called for “relentless struggle” that will bring the government’s rule to an end.

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