The prime minister may be celebrating the supposed definitive exit from the crisis with opinion pieces in government-friendly newspapers, which offer no-counter-arguments, but he cannot persuade even the Parliament Budget Office, which is now headed by a former government cadre.
The Parliament Budget Office report that was issued yesterday notes that the economy faces great challenges, that there are serious dangers of external complications, and that there is a danger of turbulence in the markets.
Notably, it underlines that the super-primary surpluses achieved through over-taxation and excessive austerity have exhausted the economy and the citizenry. It notes that the nature of post-bailout fiscal supervision is unknown, as it will emerge through political negotiations, which must guarantee the fiscally responsible stance of future governments.
Most interestingly, the report stresses the need for “a long-term strategic plan that will exceed the term of a single government”. Hence, it says, there must be public debate on the basic elements of the plan in order to ensure a minimum consensus.
Obviously, one cannot answer what type of consensus can be achieved by a government preoccupied with slandering and targeting its political adversaries.
The scenario of a rosy next day that Mr. Tsipras is attempting to cultivate is being undermined by the PM himself. On the one hand he is again attempting to cultivate false hopes in society in order to save the government, and on the other hand he is fueling a climate of polarisation, which places the path of the economy and the country in a minefield.
Mr. Tsipras can no longer persuade his own party. With mudslinging, one cannot achieve true consensus or attract investors, who are needed in order to give the economy momentum. Citizens and businessmen have had their fill of promises.
Even those who trusted him understand that he promises one thing and does another, and that his sole interest is his own political survival and that of his staff in the PM’s office.
