Will Tsipras go the extra mile?
The need for reason and consensus are more apparent than ever. The SYRIZA-led government got a harsh wake-up call when it faced a compact front in Brussels.
Our partners seem prepared to accept a lightening of the debt and an adjustment of fiscal targets. But in exchange, they want the kind of reforms that neither George Papandreou nor Antonis Samaras dared to impose.
Will Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras go the extra mile? He already made the mistake of sweeping pre-election promises and is now being held hostage by all kinds of vested interests. Within SYRIZA, meanwhile, there are officials whose notions are more suitable to Latin American movements than European parties.
Most Greeks wants reforms that will liberate the country’s potential and lead to growth. If Tsipras takes the plunge he will find the support he needs to turn things around. If not, he will find few allies on the road to the drachma.
