The leader of the main opposition Alexis Tsipras told Reuters that he intends to cancel the austerity policies that the current government has agreed to and that he will renegotiate the public debt, without however resorting to any unilateral actions.
Mr. Tsipras stressed that he is committed to keeping Greece within the Eurozone and balancing the budget before debt costs. He also told Reuters that Europe should “cut or erase” a large portion of the Greek debt, similar to how Germany’s war debt was reduced in 1953.
The opposition leader was quick to add that the IMF loans must be paid and that he would pursue an extension to maturities on bonds held by the European Central Bank, while ruling out any writedowns on bonds held by private bondholders.
While the SYRIZA leader expects a “substantial and tough negotiation” he is confident of the outcome of talks with Europe, noting that “we won’t demand something unrealistic”. Mr. Tsipras underlined that “we will cancel austerity through the Greek parliament” and vowed that the country’s exit from the bailout without new austerity measure is “not negotiable”.
Asked about the possibility of alliances following general elections, Mr. Tsipras ruled out cooperation with conservative and center left parties of the Samaras government, favoring instead a wider political consensus.
