Don?t waste this chance
The outcome of the emergency summit in Brussels yesterday has given Greece some breathing space. Greece?s eurozone partners and lenders chose to punish the banks, as it were, imposing a significant haircut. At the same time, they gave Greece more time to make the necessary structural changes and adjustments.
The question is can our politicians rise to the challenge and carry out the commitments Greece has agreed to with its international creditors, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union? The signs are not good. The government is caught up in a brawl with striking taxi drivers and most of the Socialist ministers refuse to quit their reactionary habits.
The patience of our peers is not boundless. A lot will depend on whether the government manages to make good on its promises of privatizations and spending cuts.
If Greece?s politicians continue to behave as if they live on a different planet, other governments in the euro area will treat them as outsiders to the EU core. And that can only do harm.
