The president of SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras met with the Governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras on Thursday and discussed a number of recent financial developments. Mr. Tsipras was accompanied by Yannis Dragasakis, Euclid Tsakalotos and Panagiotis Lafazanis in the meeting,
Despite having exchanged bitter accusations in the past, when Mr. Stournaras was Minister of Finances, the discussion appears to have been conducted in a positive climate, with the meeting lasting about an hour and a half. This development may prove to be important in the future, as it seems that the relations of the two have been restored to an extent.
The two sides are said to have talked about recent developments, particularly the government’s recent management and attempt to “exit the bailout”. Mr. Stournaras avoided taking a side on the matter and rather focused on the various actions that are necessary, following the conclusion of the bank stress tests.
During the discussion, the SYRIZA envoy insisted the 11.4 billion euros which are still available in the FSF must be diverted towards managing the red loans. In essence, the main opposition wants to use the funds to erase part of the debt, especially since a new deal for supervision appears to be looming.
The two sides appear to have agreed that the recession and red loans are inextricably linked to the explosive rate of unemployment; so long as the recession and unemployment remain high, the red loans will increase, which in turn have an adverse affect on the banks and the economy.
