Greece's alternate finance minister on Thursday evening sent a direct message mostly aimed at his own leftist-rightist coalition government, warning that a risk of "resuming our old habits" after the end of the current - and third consecutive - bailout is visible on the horizon.
"The risk of a new fiscal deviation is not negligible, especially since 2019 is an election year," Giorgos Chouliarakis said, speaking at a previously scheduled event in Athens.
In an even more eyebrow-raising statement, given that it comes from a top Cabinet member in a government dominated by once staunchly anti-austerity and anti-bailout leftists, Chouliarakis said the programs (bailouts) were necessary, because otherwise whatever fiscal adjustment would have been "more violent... default assured and an exit from the euro certain."
The alternate finance minister, considered as the most prominent technocrat in the Tsipras government, cited four major challenges in the period before and after the bailout ends in August 2018. Specifically, he referred to maintaining of a positive economic climate in the country, including a smooth execution of the state budget, as well as the completion of a fourth review of the current bailout and specific medium-term debt relief measures extended by European creditors to Greece.
In terms of the latter, however, he said such relief measures must await the formation of a new German coalition government.
The fourth challenge, according to Chouliarakis, is to decide what type of supervision mechanism will be created vis-a-vis Greece's finances and economy after the bailout ends, citing as an example the regime employed for previously troubled Cyprus and Portugal.
