Govt annoyance: SYRIZA manoeuvres for a political solution

Time is running out for the Greek Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government that is in a rush against time to decode the moves and intentions of Greece’s creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. There were flickers of hope in the government after the meeting in Berlin hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the participation of French President Francois Hollande, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, ECB Chief Mario Draghi and IMF Head Christine Lagarde. No ultimatum was issued, viewed as a positive sign by the Greek government.

While international groups were deciding Greece’s fate in Berlin, another meeting was taking place in Athens with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the helm. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, Alternate Foreign Minister for International Economic Relations Euclid Tsakalotos and State Minister Nikos Pappas carefully monitored developments in Berlin. The meeting was also attended by other key members of the government, such as Greek Deputy Prime Minister Giannis Dragasakis, who all let out a sigh of relief when EU partners and key institutions did not send out an ultimatum to the Greek government. Instead, a statement calling on talks to continue with “real intensity” was issued, something that Greece supports, but there was negativity that there would be no Eurogroup scheduled this week as the Greek political leadership would have liked.

On Tuesday, Tsipras is meeting with a delegation of MEPs of the GUE/NGL left parties of the European Parliament at 2.30 p.m. Special interest is cast on what he will say, bearing in mind the ongoing negotiations with Greece’s creditors. MEPs meeting with the Greek PM are Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL President), Neoklis Sylikiotis (GUE/NGL Vice President), Malin Bjork (GUE/NGL Vice President), Maria D’Alimonte (GUE/NGL General Secretary) and Dimitris Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL VP and EP VP).