After deliberating at Maximos Hall, Prime Minister Samaras and Vice President Venizelos came to an agreement regarding the coalition government’s goals and policies. According to the agreement the main goal is to “protect social cohesion, tackle unemployment and especially youth unemployment, defending vulnerable groups and rectifying the injustices committed in the effort to keep the country afloat”.
The two leaders had been revising their previous agreement for the past four months, after DIMAR left the coalition government in June. Amongst the new agreement’s 43 points is the intention to complete the four-year term, completing bailout agreements, renegotiating the debt and not imposing any new fiscal measures.
The goal of completing the four-year term appears to be rather ambitious, considering how many factors can bring imbalance to the political system at present, explaining the provisions for cooperation with other parties, such as DIMAR.
Aside from setting the foundations for the government’s future actions, at least in theory, the new agreement also resolves the relationship between the two parties, which had been bitter rivals in parliament for decades. The new agreement omits previous promises of investigating the causes of the crisis. This became apparent by how the Prime Minister handled the recent issue with the controversial submarine deal from when Mr. Venizelos was Minister of National Defense.
The “political marriage” of New Democracy and PASOK has the support of Greece creditors and some circles, including the opposition, have even discussed the possibility of the two parties cooperating in the upcoming European election. Both parties deny such rumors, claiming to have only overlooked their political differences for the benefit of the country.
There is a focus on growth strategies, efforts to increase employment and the need to meet fiscal targets. The renegotiation with creditors is frequently mentioned, as is the hope that the “emergency and temporary” measures will end after their purpose is fulfilled. Furthermore the new agreement makes judgmental references to the opposition, claiming that there are no easy or painless alternatives.
The full agreement is available here.