Greece could stumble out of the euro by accident if a new government fails to reach an agreement with international creditors soon after this month’s election, Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis said.
The main challenge facing whichever government emerges from the Jan. 25 vote will be to close the stalled review of Greek progress in meeting the terms of its financial rescue by the euro area and International Monetary Fund, he said. If that government is led by Syriza, it would be “prudent” to reverse its stance and negotiate an extension to the bailout before the aid supporting Greece expires on Feb. 28, Hardouvelis said.
The prospect of “leaving the euro area is not necessarily a bluff,” Hardouvelis, 59, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Athens yesterday. “An accident could happen, and the whole idea is to avoid it.”
PS oh, dear, Grexit-warnings to be coming till January 25th and beyond…
I understand you can spill your glass of wine on the table by accident, but losing country’s monetary system… Oops, sorry!
Or does it sound like an accident really:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-13/ecb-warning-to-greece-deploys-tactic-honed-in-crisis.html
It looks like finessed blackmailing to me. People, remember to vote better ECB council-members on next elections! (pun intended)