Despite some encouraging economic signs – 27% returns on Greek debt, the highest among sovereign securities thus far this year – a recent Bloomberg article notes that Prime Minister Samaras still faces a difficult uphill battle if Greece intends to exit the crisis in the coming year. According to critics, reads the article, “the decline in Greek stocks is a better reflection of the outlook for Samaras as the pace of economic overhaul slows, the ECB probes weaknesses in the banking system, and opposition leader Alexis Tsipras plots to bring down his government by forcing a snap election in February.” Samaras’s attempt to convince Angela Merkel that Greece would be able to handle an early exit from the memorandum amounts to a strategy to prevent early elections and maintain power, continues the article. The much promised economic recovery has yet to be seen on the ground. Investors, meanwhile, have grown increasingly concerned about the prospect of Greek political instability in the coming months. SYRIZA, the article states, is seeking to capitalize on the difficulties Samaras faces in his effort to reboot the economy. The leftist opposition party is reaching out to voters who blame their financial difficulties on the current government and the troika. Tsipras is pushing for early elections in early 2015; according to opinion polls, he will likey win. “And that’s what brought Samaras to Berlin,” the article states. The prime minister is hoping to win the Chancellor’s critical support for Greek recovery and exit from the memorandum ahead of schedule. The article goes on to point out that German as well as other European officials remain concerned about Greece. As such, they are reluctant to provide any concrete commitments: “The EU’s most recent assessment said that some rule changes have still to be implemented by the officials on the front line and the IMF has complained about delays in a raft of measures from firing public workers to cutting restrictions on consumer goods and setting up a framework for dealing with bad loans.”
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