With his statement in parliament yesterday – “For us, the first hundred days are ending tomorrow, with the passing of 100 days since the country exited the bailout memorandum.” – the prime minister attempted to restart from scratch.
He attempted to write off his almost four-year record as prime minister, as if he were not personally responsible for the heavy austerity that he enforced, resulting in the “super-primary surplus” [the portion that exceeds targets] of which he boasts.
The prime minister’s efforts to find a narrative that will sway voters are understandable. The problem with the narrative of the leader of the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition government is not that it appears false. It is the untrammeled pledges of handouts, the en masse civil service hiring, and the salary hikes for those affiliated with the ruling party. These actions bear witness to the fact that with an irresponsible leadership the country can return to the canards that led to bankruptcy.
This policy is anything but pro-working class. As was recently proven in a harsh manner, although the prime minister wants to forget it, the first victims of a crisis are the have nots.
Moreover, the PM forgets that the country still has a serious debt problem.
He also forgets what was said by a prime minister whom he often copies, Andreas Papandreou: “Either the nation will obliterate the debt or the debt will obliterate the nation.”
