SYRIZA MEP says Tsipras tactics turning Greece into'slightly worse than Zimbabwe'

“A clash with lenders will be an impractical choice, and if attempted the result will be the country returning to the trap of the memorandum, under worse conditions,” was the phrase used by SYRIA MEP Costas Chrysogonos in a letter addressed to Greek PM Alexis Tsipras on … March 19, 2015.

The constitutional law expert from Thessaloniki, a high-profile cadre of the leftist party who was elected as a MEP before SYRIZA won the general election in January 2015, sent his warnings months ago to his party’s leader — although no reply was received.

He posted his letter on his blog on Monday, in light of the surprise decision by Tsipras for a referendum — in one week’s time! — and the subsequent repercussions, capital controls, for instance, for at least one week.

Noting that he is posting his letter “with great sadness”, Chrysogonos said he’s making it public because he believes Tsipras, with his decisions and tactics, is transforming Greece into something “slightly worse than Zimbabwe”.

The “solution” entailed in stop payments to creditors and an exit from the euro zone “essentially doesn’t exist”, he writes, saying that in such a case Greece would face, due to its debts, “the entire planet”.

He also explains that the “solution” proposed by some, namely, a return to the national currency is impractical and will create more problems.

“For the next two or three months until the signing of some agreement with creditors it would be useful for our side to be low key, including on the issue of German debts to Greece from the Second World War. The verbal escalation is a trap by the other side, one that we should not get entrapped. From the summer and afterwards we’ll have the opportunity to resubmit all of the issues towards every direction,” was his advise in March.

Apparently, an email would have been preferable.

Later in the day, after his caustic posting, Chrysogonos wrote that he respects the collective decisions of the party under whose banner he was elected to the European Parliament.