EUROZONE-GREECE/ATHENS MORNING Greeks resigned to hard years ahead as bailout talks begin

Record ID: 145948

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/ATHENS MORNING Greeks resigned to hard years ahead as bailout talks begin
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING IN SYNTAGMA SQUARE FOUNTAIN/ PARLIAMENT IN BACKGROUND FOUNTAIN GREEK FLAG MORE OF PARLIAMENT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9YQJLD8A8BACYYWAHIR0GC5LX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Walking in the searing heat through the Greek capital's Syntagma Square, many Greeks on Tuesday (July 28) said they were resigned to the painful reality that there will be many years of hardship ahead as bailout measures continue to bite.
    With the arrival of a technical team representing Greece's international creditors, the first phase of negotiations have started that will pave the way for the country's third bailout programme.
    After passing two packages of measures through parliament, Greece is now on course to begin talking to the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF, as well as the euro zone's rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) for a three-year-loan worth up to 86 billion euros ($95 billion) to keep Greece in the euro zone.
    For many Greeks, the reality of the bailout programme will mean more suffering and economic pain.
    "This moment, the government needs to be united so that it can deal with all the great problems of the country. Also, our lenders , the European Union, should show some understanding so that some of our problems can be resolved so that finally this country can move forward," said 71-year-old pensioner, Cambros Kokkinos.
    Forty-six-year-old builder George Koumbis, who faces a grim future as construction projects dry up, say people need to be patient given the lack of any viable options.
    "Having another currency and breakaway (eds note: refers to EU) is not possible. If there is a breakaway, we are lost. I want him (eds note: refers to Tsipras) to be firm but I don't know if this is possible. Unemployment is rising, many people are unemployed, what can we do. Patience," Koumbis said.
    Although they support the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, some say they feel betrayed by his failure to keep his anti-austerity campaign pledge.
    "The people in the referendum, this 'vague' referendum, voted no because of the poverty, the hunger. They didn't vote no for any other reason. Unfortunately, they (eds note: refers to government), took the no and turned it into a yes," said 60-year-old pensioner Costas Aftias.
    "In the situation that Greece is in now, we do not have a person who is capable of governing. If we look in the past, to the previous ones we have sworn off, perhaps if they were still (in power) the situation would not have been like this. There is no man to take the wheel in his hands," said 77-year-old Giuseppe Petrini, an Italian who has been living in Greece for many years.
    "I don't want this government to stay. But also, our creditors, they should write off (eds note: refers to debt) and be over with this. So that Greece can start fresh," said housewife, Paraskevi Kambas.
    The talks began as former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis confirmed he had made secret plans to hack into citizens' tax codes to issue a parallel currency if necessary.
    The reports have further divided the party which suffered a rebellion when a quarter of its 149 lawmakers in parliament voted against the bailout measures.
    Greek newspaper Efimerida Ton Syntakton tackled the divides in Syriza with the headline "Strangers in the Same Party."
    Eleftheros Tipos newspaper reported the sensitive issue of pensions. The controversy surrounding Varoufakis was also covered in the Ta Nea newspaper and the possibility that the prosecutor could launch an investigation.
    Varoufakis said Tspiras had initially approved contingency planning by a five-person unit in his ministry led by U.S. economist James Galbraith but had refused to give the green light to activate the plan after Greece had to close its banks and impose capital controls on June 28.
    The outspoken minister, long regarded by creditors as an obstacle to any deal, resigned a week later.
    Greece came close to the brink during a long stand off between the government and its creditors, with Athens missing a debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund on June 30, leading to the three-week bank closure and cash rationing.
    Voters angered by years of austerity rejected bailout terms in a referendum on July 7, only for Tsipras to accept even more stringent conditions a week later as the crisis deepened.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.
Register