With the agreement about to close it is clear that the country is entering a new political cycle. Mr. Tsipras appears to completing the turn he started last year after the referendum and is finally accepting that he and the country have no other option other than remaining in the euro zone. What remains to be seen is whether his ministers and party officers have also abandoned the delusions they cultivated.
The Tsipras government will inevitably be judged by how faithful it implements the bailout it has accepted and signed. Every delay, failure and undermining of goals – as was typically the case, by a number of ministers, until now – will push away any prospect for an economic recovery, while simultaneously bringing closer the activation of the much-debated mechanism for cutting expenses and all that entails.
The media spins and propping up enemies only have a limited effect. The economic developments will determine the outcome of the battle. This however demands a government that is not chasing ghosts, but rather focusing on growth, entrepreneurship, investments, employment, changing the climate and securing the country’s position in international politics.
So far, the experience of the government policy in these sectors is not encouraging. The obsessions, political conflicts, personal games and inter-party balances continue to reign. A large section of government officers, even in critical areas, are bound by contradictions, managerial shortcomings and a culture of hostility towards investments and entrepreneurship.
Nevertheless, Mr. Tsipras has one more opportunity to prove that he has finally rid himself of his obsessions and delusions; that the turn he made was not a coincidental political choice, but a genuine acceptance of European reality. The next few months will prove whether he can and will implement the policy he has agreed to.
TO VIMA
