This story will slowly begin to pick up steam until they’re due to negotiate terms this summer, when Greece will need more money. Until then, as the migration of people from war torn areas of the Middle East strangle Greece to death, you will hear a lot of posturing out of Greek officials, emboldened by recent events.
Greek rejected the IMF’s demands for further pension cuts, which have been cut 11 times since the Greek drama began.
“It (the IMF) thinks that the figures don’t add up for us to reach (a primary surplus) of 3.5 percent of GDP in 2018 and says that since you have cut down on everything else, where are you going to find (money) if you don’t lower pensions further?” Tsakalotos told parliament.
Pensions have been cut 11 times since Greece signed its first bailout in 2010 and Athens cannot lower them further, the minister said.
He said the economy last year had performed better than projected under the bailout deal signed up in August. “The average estimate when we were discussing was for GDP growth of -2 percent and now we know it will be between -0.4 and -0.7 percent,” said Tsakalotos.
The IMF is also pushing EU lenders — the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the EU Commission — to offer Greece more generous debt relief to make its reform program more sustainable, he said.
If Greece is ever going to leave the euro, 2016 would be ideal…for them at least.
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2016: Sell in May and Go Away.
11 times sure does sound like enough. No wonder the Greek folks are unwilling. Sounds like they’re already eating cat food and now the IMF wants them to give that up.