The EU`s agreements with Greece is still in force
Baku, May 10 (AZERTAC). The fate of Greece is, on Tuesday night, in the hands of the leader of a far-left party who launched the quest to form a government by declaring the country could no longer commit itself to the terms of an international loan agreement keeping its economy afloat.
After accepting a mandate to create a multiparty administration following inconclusive elections, Alexis Tsipras sent shockwaves through financial markets by announcing the pledges Athens had made to secure rescue funds from the EU and IMF were null and void.
“The popular verdict clearly renders the bailout deal null,” said the politician, whose stridently anti-austerity coalition of the radical left, known as Syriza, sprung the surprise of the weekend`s poll, coming in second with 16.8% of the vote. “This is an historic moment for the left and the popular movement and a great responsibility for me.”
With just three days in which to form a government that could fill the power vacuum that has emerged in Athens, Tsipras said he would begin by approaching other leftwing forces in an attempt to “end the agreements of subservience.”
The centre-right New Democracy, whose efforts to form a government collapsed on Monday, clinched 18.9%, the largest share of the vote, but with just 108 members in parliament fell far short of a working majority.
“On paper it might not look as if we can do it, as if the numbers don`t add up, but we will approach all the parties to see if they would be willing to endorse such a government,” said a senior Syriza cadre.
The prospect of protracted political instability has stoked fears that Greece is not just teetering on a political precipice but also laying the ground, however unwittingly, for its own euro exit.
Syriza MPs contend that the ultimatum “bailout or bankruptcy” has been overblown and is little more than a scare tactic used by the mainstream parties to whip up support for the “barbaric measures” outlined in the deeply unpopular fiscal adjustment programme that rescue loans entails. Tsipras, whose casual demeanor belies a steely political backbone, told the Guardian on the eve of Sunday`s vote: “We are not against the euro but we are opposed to the policies being pursued in the name of the euro.”
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