Austerity imperils euro: Greece’s left

Speaking upon arrival in Germany on Tuesday, Alexis Tsipras, a frontrunner in Greece’s forthcoming repeat elections, stressed that Athens’ international creditors should confirm their “errors” and change their policies “to avoid a catastrophe.”

Meanwhile, European leaders have expressed hope that Greece’s second parliamentary elections, expected on June 17, would produce a strong government and put an end to the country’s political and economic turmoil.

European officials also insisted that the outcome of the vote would determine whether Greece stays in the 17-nation bloc or not, stressing that in any case the new administration must comply with the austerity measures the country agreed to with its European neighbors in exchange for endorsement of the second financial bailout.

The 37-year-old leader of the Radical Left party reiterated his plan to abandon the tough spending cuts, but said that he would not seek to leave the eurozone.

“To the contrary, it would mean that we have a chance of saving the euro,” he added.

However, he warned that if the EU leaders continue insisting on their “wrong solutions of austerity” measures, they could finally force Greece out of eurozone and that “would represent a much greater danger for the euro.”

Labeled as the “Greek Che Guevara,” Tsipras also declared that saving Greece from economic turmoil should be in the eurozone’s own interest, because “if the Greek patient cannot be treated, then the crisis will spread to all of Europe.”

Greece will hold new parliamentary elections in less than a month after previous polls earlier in May failed to give any party an absolute majority.

Syriza, which is expected to win the coming votes, came in second in the first elections due to its pledge to overturn the controversial austerity measures.

SAB/GHN/MA

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