The Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defended his government’s policy in the negotiations with Greece’s international creditors and argued that the third bailout agreement “was a necessary choice”. From the stand in Parliament Mr. Tsipras stated that “we have a new financial, political and social landscape upon which we will design the next day” and that his cabinet “exhausted all negotiation opportunities and all liquidity without borrowing”.
Mr. Tsipras argued that “the real dilemma posed in the 17-hours of negotiations was not a bailout or disorderly bankruptcy, but a bailout with the euro or a bailout with the drachma”, adding that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble continues to pose objections to block the agreement.
According to Mr. Tsipras his government did not have a mandate to negotiate a departure from the euro, but estimated that the “rift” caused in Europe during the negotiations was “not negligible”. In taking a step back, which the Prime Minister dubbed a “painful, responsible choice”, he opined that Greece will stand tall.
During his speech Mr. Tsipras rejected his critics who insisted on alternative solutions during the negotiations and explained that he had a “clear conscience” that the bailout agreement reached was the best possible, within a state of a credit crunch. The Prime Minister also warned that a bridge loan will be a “setback” and as such must be avoided.
