Once again Greece finds itself trapped by the internal conflicts and the problems of our partners and creditors. Even though they publicly recognize the significant steps towards consolidating public finances lately, even though they accept that there will be a primary surplus – even if it is significantly less that what the Greek government estimated – much sooner than predicted, they are delaying in fulfilling their commitments. They demand that we are consistent to the finest detail, while they follow delaying tactics once more, postpone the implementation of – promised – decisions and prolong the financial and political uncertainty in Greece.
Nobody doubts that there are problems and delays. They cannot however ignore the unprecedented fiscal consolidation that was made possible thanks to the sacrifices of the Greek people. Just like they cannot ignore that the constant pressure for further measures subverts the emergent positive climate in the economy and encourages political and social uncertainty. When all indications suggest that the country is finally beginning to escape the vicious cycle of recession, they constantly create new obstacles rather than support the effort.
The troika’s dogmatic persistence for fiscal consolidation and the indifference to tragic effect of the dismantling of the country’s productive sector on employment leads nowhere, does not our interests or those of our creditors. A new set of measures, like the creditor representatives appear to demand, will deprive the real economy of what little oxygen it has left. The infamous fiscal gap that they have confirmed once more, as well as the funding gap derived from servicing the debt, must be dealt with differently, whether the economy continues its recessive plunge or finally gets on track for growth. All that our creditors’ constant delay tactics achieves is to extend the uncertainty and subvert our goals. They should set aside the delays and finally realize that the pressure and procrastination does not only harm Greek interests, but their own as well…
TO VIMA
