Syriza in shock over creditors' demands
Helena Smith
Over in Athens there is mounting angst that if
Greece is pushed too far, political turbulence will almost certainly erupt.
Our correspondent Helena Smith reports
While Greece’s fate was being debated in Brussels, in Athens the ruling radical left Syriza party was exhibiting signs of disintegration. Demands that the controversial reforms be approved by the Greek government and enacted into law by Wednesday were described as “utter blackmail” by leading party members and met with stunned disbelief.
Although sources close to prime minister
Alexis Tsipras said the leader was now determined to do whatever was needed to keep Grexit at bay, political tumult also beckoned. Insiders conceded that a cabinet reshuffle – removing those ministers who had refused to vote the austerity package through parliament early Saturday – could come as early as Monday.
“What is sure is that we are going to have dramatic political developments,” said Nikos Bistis, a veteran politician from the centre left. “Basically Syriza is now split in two.”
By late Sunday it had become clear Tsipras’ u-turn, accepting measures he had once furiously spurned, had produced a tectonic split with potentially far-reaching consequences. In addition to suffering an unexpected loss of support with 17 MPs breaking ranks at the weekend – defections that strip his government of a working majority – 15 other lawmakers also indicated that they would not approve the agreement in its entirety when it was brought to the 300-seat House.
The MPs, who included two ministers, said they were radically opposed to endorsing an austerity programme that was not only ideologically at odds with their own beliefs but would exacerbate “the country’s agonising and tragic social economic problems.”
The resistance raises the spectre of Tsipras being forced to call fresh elections – a move described as potentially catastrophic for the country.
“Greece can bend up to a point,” said Aristides Hatzis, a prominent political commentator. “But after that there is no bending, only breaking. The breaking point may well come when Tsipras realises he has lost most of his parliamentary group.”
The embattled prime minister will also face substantial resistance from the parliament’s speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou in getting the policies fast-tracked through the House.
A Syriza hardliner, Kostantopoulou said at the weekend:
“the government is being blackmailed. The lenders are insisting on turning the “no” [of last week’s referendum] into “yes.” I could never vote for the contents of the agreement.”