Greece’s Samaras Told to Quit ‘Political Games’ for EU Aid
November 22, 2011, 9:23 PM ESTBy Jonathan Stearns
(Updates with comments from Karatzaferis in ninth, 10th paragraphs. For more on the sovereign-debt crisis, see EXT4.)
Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Antonis Samaras, head of Greece’s New Democracy party, was told by the president of the European Commission to quit playing “political games” and drop his refusal to pledge written support for Greek budget cuts as a condition for the next installment of international aid.
“For the European Union and IMF to support, they need to be sure that this is for a sustainable effort,” commission President Jose Barroso said yesterday in Brussels in a press conference with Greek Premier Lucas Papademos. “What we have to do now is to concentrate on implementation -- less politics and more commitment. It’s not just a sprint; it’s a marathon.”
The comment underscores mounting pressure on Samaras, whose party is a member of Greece’s unity government and who has balked at the demand for a written endorsement of budget cuts. He says he has told officials from the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank that he has already taken five actions that show his full commitment to the austerity program, state-run Athens News Agency said on Nov. 19.
Greece needs a sixth disbursement of loans under last year’s 110 billion-euro ($148 billion) rescue and a planned second package of 130 billion euros to avoid economic collapse. The euro area and the IMF, which are funding the two packages including the next payment of 8 billion euros, want Greece’s main political leaders including Samaras to commit to spending cuts beyond the life of the Papademos-led unity government.
Papademos, a former ECB vice president who took over when George Papandreou’s government collapsed on Nov. 10, will meet Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker today before traveling to Frankfurt to meet ECB President Mario Draghi.
‘Very Demanding’
EU President Herman Van Rompuy called on “all Greek political leaders to fully back this strategy.” In a statement after meeting Papademos yesterday, Van Rompuy said euro-area finance ministers “should” be in a position to authorize the next Greek loan installment at a meeting scheduled for Nov. 29.
“The situation is very demanding,” Van Rompuy said. “A lot of efforts have already been done by the Greek people. However, more needs to be done to restore stability, confidence and growth.”
Barroso said Greece faces “exceptional” difficulties that don’t allow for “political games” by Greek party leaders. He said the aim is to ensure that Greece stays in the 17-nation euro area.
George Karatzaferis, head of the Laos party that is the third partner in the unity government, said he too was struggling with the demand for a written pledge on austerity and was considering addressing an open letter in his faction’s official newspaper.
“I ran into a wall on this issue,” Karatzaferis said in an interview on Mega TV yesterday when asked if he found any flexibility on the issue when he met EU, ECB and IMF officials in Athens recently. “I believe they have no trust in us at all.”
International Lenders
Papademos vowed to press ahead with steps needed to win further aid while saying it was also up to Greek party chiefs like Samaras and Karatzaferis to meet the euro-area and IMF conditions for extra funding. He defended the demand by international lenders for a written commitment to continued austerity.
“It is necessary in order to eliminate uncertainties and ambiguities concerning actions to be taken in the future by parties that may be in power,” Papademos said. “But it’s up to the leaders of the relevant parties to decide how this confirmation of the commitment will be made.”
In his remarks with Barroso, Papademos said Greece needs to keep the euro. This goal is supported by “the overwhelming majority of the Greek people,” he said.
“This is the only route forward, the only option for this government and for the Greek people,” Papademos said. “The task ahead of us is a Herculean one.”
He also vowed to enact a voluntary writedown of Greek debt with private investors, as foreseen in the second aid package for Greece approved by euro-area leaders on Oct. 26-27. That bond exchange foresees 50 percent losses for investors and is supposed to take place in early 2012.
“It’s a complex process, but we are committed to complete it successfully together with the private sector and our European partners,” Papademos said.
--With assistance from Maria Petrakis in Athens. Editors: Jones Hayden, James Hertling
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
