Following his trip to Cyprus, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras traveled to Rome on Tuesday, where he met with his Italian counterpart Mateo Renzi. The meeting was postponed for 6pm in the afternoon due to the swearing in of the new Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
Government sources reported that Mr. Tsipras insisted that his government is prepared to carry out necessary reforms that will bring fiscal balance and social justice, but that this also needs time and fiscal room. The Italian Prime Minister sent a message of support to Greece, following his meeting with Alexis Tsipras.
In the press conference that followed their meeting, Mr. Renzi states that he is a “fan of the Greek effort” and supported the continuation of reforms, although he later argued that “we must speak of growth, not just austerity”.
Mr. Renzi stressed that the problems between Greece and Europe would soon be resolved and estimated that there was room for an agreement. He also noted that Mr. Tsipras message of hope, in contrast to fear, reflects the younger generations which are most affected by the crisis.
The Greek Prime Minister underlined that the European people and creditors have nothing to fear from the new Greek government, but that “they should be afraid if the policies that were observed until yesterday continued”.
Mr. Tsipras stressed that he does not want to cause a North-South divide in Europe, but instead he wants to create an “alliance of rationality”. He explained that the troika policy implemented in Greece “made everything worse” and that it was time for a necessary turn in Europe. Europe is a crucial crossroads, he explained and Greece will work towards implementing the necessary policy change.
Regarding reforms, Mr. Tsipras noted that time was necessary to prepare a plan to help the economy recover, which would include extensive changes. Mr. Tsipras committed to not creating new deficits and said that he intends to combat the state corruption which has plagued the middle and lower classes.
At the end of the press conference the two Prime Ministers exchanged presents, with Mr. Renzi giving Mr. Tsipras a tie. Mr. Renzi quipped that after solving the financial problem in Greece, the first tie he will wear will be Italian. Mr. Tsipras gave Mr. Renzi a record of Greek songs from Magna Graecia, in the south of Italy.
