The general consensus is that the country is not in its finest hour.
The domestic political climate is the worst possible. Governmental cohesion has long ago been shaken. Scandals, scandal-mongering, the unprecedented recent events at Thessaloniki’s Toumba Stadium, and all the divisive signals that they emit do not permit the necessary understanding and consensus that the circumstances demand.
The unfortunate thing is that in this frail, divisive environment, the country’s difficult external fronts, especially Turkey, have been aggravated, adding uncertainty anda concern about the development of Greek affairs in general.
Greece is supposed to be on a path of preparation for the exit from the regime of bailout memorandums, but there are ample tensions and loose ends.
We have reached mid-March and nothing has been elucidated regarding how to achieve the goal of reincorporating the Greek economy in the international economic system.
Until now, the government has not presented the promised development plan, which was supposed to be received enthusiastically by the international markets, thus transmitting optimism and trust in the course of the economy, and attracting investments and stimulating exports.
The issue of Greek banks is still pending and does not so far inspire certainty regarding exiting the crisis, but instead maintains uncertainties. If, after May, positive prospects do not emerge, conditions will deteriorate further.
Meanwhile, the issue of debt restructuring is up in the air, and no one can guarantee that the expenditures for servicing the debt will be in line with the course of the Greek economy.
Even the IMF has not directly taken a position, as it awaits Greek and European commitments.
Moreover, the government has not clearly signaled that fiscal discipline will prevail in the future, which would have facilitated foreign players in taking a position.
Everyone must consider that the complex combination of tasks that lie ahead cannot proceed smoothly without the participation of the Bank of Greece, which is the government’s strongest advisor. At the moment, there is no contact between the government and the administration of the Bank of Greece, which has repercussions on the country’s crucial economic affairs.
If, after all these loose ends and uncertainties, the interest rate on Greek ten-year bonds in early June is not near 3.5 percent, but instead is around five percent, doubts will be cast on the entire effort. In other words, nothing will have been accomplished and one will have to start again from scratch.
The danger of the country sliding into a new cycle of doubt is plainly obvious. Undoubtedly, it is the result of the weaknesses of Mr. Tsipras and his allies, and their inability to conduct politics guided only by the interests of the country.
The government confused its own partisan and power-centred objectives with those of the country, and now it faces and unprecedented impasse.
There is still a bit of time to reverse this course. That would mean that the government must devote itself exclusively to addressing the country’s real problems, and to transcending partisan and self-interested objectives, which have proven both detrimental and vacuous.
