PM pushes terms he once rejected

Uncertainty remains whether European creditors would support latest offer of reforms for cash

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appealed to his party's lawmakers on Friday to back a tough reforms package after abruptly offering last-minute concessions to try to save the country from an impending financial meltdown.

After walking into a party meeting to applause, Tsipras rallied his Syriza lawmakers to throw their weight behind the new proposals ahead of a snap vote in parliament on the negotiations, urging them to help keep Greece in the eurozone.

"We are confronted with crucial decisions," a government official quoted Tspiras telling his Syriza lawmakers. "We got a mandate to bring a better deal than the ultimatum the Eurogroup gave us, but certainly not given a mandate to take Greece out of the eurozone," he said. "We are all in this together."

It is unclear whether all the creditors would back the latest reforms package, which was strikingly similar to the terms Greece had rejected in a referendum that Tsipras had called in June.

France, Greece's strongest supporter in the eurozone, rushed to praise the proposals, with President Francois Hollande calling them "serious and credible".

The lenders' backing is crucial for eurozone leaders to support the proposals at a summit on Sunday.

European markets rallied on the improved prospects for a last-ditch deal to keep Greece in the euro currency, while Italian, Spanish and Portuguese bond yields fell.

Attitudes toward giving Greece more money have hardened, including in Germany, which has contributed more to Greek bailouts than any other country. Some, including a senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, greeted the latest reform proposals with skepticism. Latvia's prime minister told German radio he would not accept any proposal that includes a debt write-down.

Finance ministers of the 19-nation eurozone will meet on Saturday to decide whether to recommend opening negotiations on a third bailout program for Athens despite widespread exasperation at the 5-year-old Greek debt crisis.

Greece asked for 53.5 billion euros ($60 billion) to help cover its debts until 2018, a review of primary surplus targets in the light of the sharp deterioration of its economy and a "reprofiling" of the country's long-term debt.

Trouble at home

But the plan could cause trouble for Tsipras at home, from hard-liners in his own party as well as his junior coalition ally. Any new deal would also have to be endorsed by national parliaments, including in Germany.

Tsipras has called a snap vote in parliament asking for its backing to negotiate a list of "prior actions" - measures his government would take to convince creditors of its intent for an aid deal and to secure the first disbursement.

"It's a positive step forward - shame it came now and not weeks earlier. This is the same proposal Greece rejected on June 26 and 61 percent of Greeks voted against in the referendum," a eurozone official said.

Reuters - AFP - AP

(China Daily 07/11/2015 page9)