Editorial Ta Nea: Defeat

We know what we are leaving behind. It is the third bailout memorandum signed by the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government after six months of tragic negotiations that drove the country to the edge of the abyss.

Without it, the cycle of memorandums would have closed in January, 2015, with a precautionary credit line.
Now, let us consider what lies ahead. We have an agreement which binds the country for the coming decades.

Essentially, that agreement involves a very tough fiscal surveillance. The country will be subjected to a regime of extremely strict audits, with state property being offered as collateral to ensure the implementation of what has been agreed upon, and with a straight jacket of primary surpluses that binds future governments until 2060.

The common denominator of all this is nothing other than a programme of perpetual austerity, which is mandated by a memorandum without money, which can undermine growth and, consequently, the viability of the national debt.

That is the reality, and it does not permit triumphant declarations. The memorandum has ended for creditors as regards the issue of new loans, but it has not ended for our country, which will continue on the path of meeting its commitments towards them.

That reality does not permit complacency. On the contrary, it demands a long-term plan, with a change in the model of the economy and production. It requires a plan that will be drawn up without blinders and ideological fixations, which will be supported by all political forces.

The country has lost valuable time, human resources, and money.

The cause of that is not only the crisis, but also the way the government has handled it.

A new defeat of this sort is inconceivable.