Will PM have the courage?
Within the next few weeks, Prime Minister George Papandreou must announce a plan or at least a series of decisions that will come as a pleasant surprise to Greece?s international partners and to the markets.
The fact that New Democracy has voiced its agreement with the privatization of the ailing Public Power Corporation provides the premier with a prize opportunity to go against the flow and convince the European Union and the International Monetary Fund that he is ready to push ahead with bold privatizations.
The fact is that everyone except the labor union representing PPC?s workers will benefit from such a development.
The question, however, remains as to whether Papandreou will muster up the courage necessary to make a decision that goes against his own party?s DNA, as PASOK has always had very close ties with the labor movement. But it is only decisions of this kind and of this level of risk that will convince the EU and the IMF to continue providing Greece with financial help.
