Tsipras live — Alternatives during summit were: agreement or unruly bankruptcy
His latest live television appearance comes a day before an utterly crucial vote in Parliament on the agreement worked out by Athens with its European creditors on Monday morning.
Tsipras’ comments, in bullet form:
– There is real problem with the pension system
– It’s not progressive to retire at the age of 45
– This adaptation is milder than cuts in wages, pensions
– Wages, pensions are not cut, but VAT rates are raised; that’s the irrationality of the policy that is imposed on us
– There is a commitment for a restructuring of the debt
– We’ve left Grexit behind
– The agreemetn includes harsh reforms, but there is a prospect, which was not in the June 25 ultimatum
– I tried to demand as much as I could
– There was also a Schauble version
– Alternatives were: agreement or an unruly bankruptcy
-The night before last was a bad evening for Greece
– Today I want to only speak truths and not beautify things
– I took risks. In life and in politics you must take risks
– When I decided on the referendum, I had the conviction that it would give us the necessary extension (of time). There was a vindictive stance on the part of the parnters
– I have convinced by the fact that I took matters to an extreme. I took things to the point they had never gone. Someone may criticize me that I went too far. No one can criticize me that I didn’t do everything I could. We reached a point that was outside the framework of the support program
– They were giving us one billion for five months, and then again negotiations for new terms. We had an absolute impasse 10 days ago … You can criticize me for an illusion that this Europe can be defeated, but you cannot criticize me for lying
– I am not willing to flee from my responsibilities
– Within this harsh framework there are possibilities for redistribution (of wealth?)
– I hope that the economy will return to growth rates, so that we can redistribute in a fairer manner
– It’s clear that the country is receiving 82 billion euros, and that it must maneuver within the a fiscal framework as dictated by this agreement
– The EKAS bonus (for low-income pensioners) will not be abolished, but it will be replaced in 2020
– We struggled so that pensions would not be reduced
– I do not want to beautify anything, but on the issue of pensions we managed to avoid cuts
– There is no ‘bridge-program’ as yet. Some people are blocking it
– When asked about the prospect of expelling MPs from ruling SYRIZA, ‘that’s not my (political) culture, nor of my party’s’
– We’re amid critical conditions
– There is no Plan B
– When I understood this I communicated with Merkel and told her that I consider this as unfathomable. She told me that is was not her plan, and the story ended there
– Schauble’s option was a consensual option. I understood this when Yanis Varoufakis conveyed a message in March or April
– Those that had transferred their money abroad would have gotten by just fine. That (Grexit) was not a leftist choice
– An disorderly default (bankruptcy) would have led to the issuance of a (new) currency
– The country does not have cash reserves to back a new currency
– The decision was the one I made, with the criterion of what is best in the interest of the country at the moment and the working classes. This is reality
– I will not say that I brought about a success story, like the previous (governments)
– Asked of a break-up of ruling SYRIZA, he said he will do whatever possible to keep the leftist party intact
– A consensual Grexit would have meant a return to a national currency with the continuation of the memorandum
– Certain hardcore conservatives in Europe do not feel comfortable with the existence of a government that is different than the framework they are used to