The Greek coalition government is turning the last troika evaluation into a game of politics as it takes the risk to refuse to back down on the program of 100 tranches for debtors. At the same time, Athens seems not to have a plan for the day after the current memorandum, political analysts say. Greece ‘s international creditors don’t accept the measure of the 100 tranches for debtors to the state that allegedly creates a financial gap of one million euros to the state budget. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras claims that the financial gap is only a calculation error. Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis also downplayed the financial gap and said it is something to be discussed at the evaluation. The troika has been putting tremendous pressure on Athens ahead of the last evaluation. The creditors want all reforms to be implemented and they appear very strict on Greece ‘s finances. They also seem indifferent to the unstable political climate the country is facing ahead of the presidential elections in February 2015. The hard negotiations between Greece and the international creditors have also to do with the role the International Monetary Fund will play after the end of the current memorandum. Analysts talk about behind the scenes negotiations between all parties involved. The EU and the ECB continue to suggest that Greece should stay under IMF support. After yesterday’s meeting between Samaras and Vice President Evangelos Venizelos, the latter said that the agreement with the troika and the economic plan for the period after the memorandum will be announced to the Greek people before the presidential election. Given the pressure by SYRIZA — which has a clear lead in polls — the statement sounded like a question to both, the troika and the Greek people: You want early elections or not?
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