#andreou

It seems to be turning into a clear pattern for the people of Greece to defy opinion polls. After constant predictions of a neck-and-neck race, some polls even putting the conservative New Democracy slightly ahead, Alexis Tsipras and the leftist party SYRIZA triumphed last night, winning by a clear margin of 7.5% from his closest rival. Having been forced to sign an onerous third bail-out, having seen his party lose dozens of MPs who defected and formed their own party LAE, having suffered an astonishing and sustained attack from European interests and Greek private media, Tsipras found himself with just four fewer MPs. 145 instead of 149 (151 is a majority). It is a remarkable political achievement, by any measure.

...Tsipras has a golden opportunity now. With his stock high and his opposition in tatters, he can forge ahead with a programme based on a fairer distribution. He can prove that the left is not just words, but can govern a country pragmatically and shrewdly for the good of the many. The death throes of the old establishment, of big media, corruption and clientelism will be violent and the birth pangs of a new social democracy equally painful. The next year will probably be the most difficult Greece has experienced recently. But if he manages to restructure our country’s debt, reform the public sector and attract investment, I think Greece could start to grow very soon and grow very quickly. Tsipras stands at the threshold of history. He may well prove to be Greece’s most significant political figure of the 21st century.

This is my initial reaction to the deal proposal by Greece: it is more austerity -harsh austerity at that - and many of the measures are recessionary. Distribution of the burden seems to me fairer than before. If the upside is access to a significant stimulus package (front-loaded), a smoothing of the measures (back-loaded) and substantial restructuring of debt, to make it definitively viable, it will probably be seen as worth it. It is certainly capable of being sold as worth it.

...I wrote in January that after decades of the wrong people succeeding from the wrong reasons, Greece was yearning for the right people to fail for the right reasons. I believe this is what has happened. I do not, for a moment, doubt this government's honesty or integrity and that is an important step forward, psychologically. I believe they have done the best that anyone could have, with honesty and - yes, at times - wide eyed naïveté. I do not envy their task in the weeks and months to come, whatever it turns out to be, and I intend to fully support them in it.I also wrote, in January, that even if the Syriza dream ends in compromise, what it will achieve is to bring unsavoury operators, who like to keep their arm-twisting and blackmail confined to the chalets of Davos, out into the open. One must know who the enemy is, in order to fight the enemy. Syriza has achieved that. Now, it is over to you, Spain. Take what we've learned and apply it wisely. 

"Why should German tax payers pay for Greece's spending?" That was your central question, condensed and paraphrased a little. I don't think it is an unfair question. I do, however, think it is framed in unfair terms.

To start with, let us acknowledge three things. First, our politicians lie to us on a regular basis. The lies they tell us, I will come back to, but let us agree the basic premise. Second, the media distort facts. You must have observed in your country, on issues which concern you and on which you are knowledgeable, that media reports are sometimes twisted, incomplete, simplifying and often have a clear agenda. Please accept that they do the same when they talk about Greece.

This is why I write to you directly. To try and cut out the distorting lens of carefully chosen photos and headlines; of "line to take" and political stigma, of politicians' statements and posturing for votes. “