"The old Tsipras has returned", was the way Der Spiegel described the Greek prime minister one-day visit to Berlin for a closely watched meeting with the German chancellor.
The major German mass media outlet was one of the many that focused on the Greek premier's arrival and talks in Berlin, given that yet again a bevy of problems have clouded the Greek bailout program -- i.e. a delayed second review, disagreements between lenders themselves and Athens over primary budget surplus targets after 2018, temporarily suspended debt relief measures agreed to just last week, the IMF future role and, more recent, an abrupt one-off "holiday bonus" announced on television by Tsipras himself, a spending splurge set to take a 617-million-euro chunk out of the Greek state's coffers.
Der Spiegel opined that Tsipras appears to have tired with his role as a "reformer" and now prefers to return to an antagonistic stance vis-a-vis creditors.
In a bid to discern a strategy behind the numerous statements coming out of Athens, Der Spiegel cites the fact that creditors themselves do not agree over the course of austerity for the country, leading to a suggestion that "Tsipras' dangerous stance may aim at forcing creditors to take a decision."
