Editorial: Clouds gathering

The clouds that have gathered in our broader region are too many for the government to ignore.

We are entering a period of general instability, the consequences of which are unforeseeable. Constant vigilance is required. It requires a sort of Darwinian adaptability which ensures survival.

That is what the government must ensure. It must revise objectives and redesign strategies that could endanger not only national security, but the viability of an already fragile economy.

One strategic goal that requires immediate revision is that of the so-called clean exit from the bailout memorandum.
Solely for electoral reasons, the government insists on a particular slogan, when the general situation mandates the opposite. It prefers to abandon the path of cheap borrowing to swim in the ocean of the markets, which at any given moment can devour the ship of the Greek economy.

The government received a warning signal when it issued a seven-year bond, but it stubbornly ignores it.
In order to bolster the narrative of a clean bailout exit, the government has turned its back on requesting a precautionary credit line.

Instead of opting for a programme that entails fiscal measures and cheap money, if necessary, it prefers a programme with measures and costly borrowing – so costly that it may end up being no money at all.
Yet, the clouds have gathered, and a storm may break out, with the clean exit turning into a real tragedy.