A recent article published by the British magazine, “The Economist,” on the occasion of the return of the troika to Greece and the new round of negotiations aimed to “unlock” the next bailout package installment, comments on the Greek “fragile coalition government held hostage by interest groups,” while also questioning whether “SYRIZA’s moment” has come.
“The scene is familiar: burly Greek bodyguards hustle a trio of foreign bureaucrats into the finance ministry through a side entrance to avoid a cluster of anti-austerity protesters shouting ‘troika go home.’ Hours later tight-lipped representatives of the troika—the European Commission, IMF and European Central Bank (ECB)—head back to their hotel while ministry officials spin their version of the talks: heroic Greek resistance to ‘excessive’ demands made by the country’s international creditors.”
With this description, begins the article of the magazine, titled “The troika is back,” which then makes extensive reference to the austerity measure not put through by the Greek government until today, opposed to the demands of the representatives of Greece’s international creditors.
Meanwhile, the troika has returned to Greece to negotiate the payment conditions for the third installment of the international bailout package. “Disputes over liberalizing the market for fresh milk and allowing supermarkets to sell non-prescription drugs underline how the fragile coalition government led by Antonis Samaras, the centre-right prime minister, is held hostage by interest groups,” mentions the article on the negotiations held between the troika and the Greek Finance Ministry officials.
The article also comments on the economic forecasts concerning Greek recession rates and tourism, while also making reference to the upcoming elections and the climbing popularity of leftist SYRIZA party, mentioning, “Elections in May for the European parliament, regional governors and local mayors will show how popular Alexis Tsipras is with voters.”
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