Greek opposition leader calls for European debt conference
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras says only viable solution to debt crisis is 'a haircut for Greece and entire southern periphery'
“Only weeks after the EU and IMF announced a third plan in as many years to rescue Greece from insolvency, the country's most popular party – its radical left opposition – has called for a European debt conference to "finally" settle a crisis it claims is no nearer to being solved.
In an exclusive interview, Alexis Tsipras, who heads the stridently anti-austerity Syriza, insisted that with the debt drama spreading it was vital that foreign lenders take a leaf out of the history books by dealing with the eurozone's crisis-hit southern periphery in much the same way that Germany had been treated after the second world war."It is quite clear that the latest agreement was a compromise that will only perpetuate the uncertainty … Merkel has to say to her people before [the 2013 German] elections that the programme is not working," he told the Guardian.
"The only viable solution is a haircut not only for Greece but the entire southern periphery," said the leader, emphasising that the longer creditors postponed writing off a significant portion of Athens' staggering debt the greater the cost both socially and economically.
"That is why we are proposing a conference along the lines of the one that took place in London in 1953, which relieved Germany of around 60% of its debt. We want to agree with our lenders on a credible solution. It doesn't matter where it takes place but it should happen as soon as possible."
As an allied power, Greece, ironically, had been present at the conference whose debt agreement would go on to lay the foundations for Germany's post-war economic miracle. The pact had allowed Hitler's destroyed country to not only repay its debt over a 30-year period but had also stipulated that its financial obligations would also be dependent on Germany's economic performance.”…
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/09/greek-opposition-european-debt-conference/print