Tsipras Pushes Greeks to Take Bailout Deal

Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday continued the diplomatic high-wire act that his country’s economic crisis has obliged him to attempt by working hard at home to persuade members of the Greek Parliament and the general population to accept the bailout package he was just offered in Brussels.

Though Tsipras’ challenge is far from enviable, it may not be impossible, according to The New York Times:

For someone who has been forced by his nation’s creditors to accept a bailout proposal that backtracks on nearly every campaign promise he made, Mr. Tsipras appears to have political support that is alive and well, even among protesters.

Analyst say he has quickly fashioned an appealing, or at least credible, narrative in the face of what most Greeks consider a negotiating disaster: The deal may be bad, but it was the best we could get and must be carried out in a way that puts average Greeks ahead of the rich, particularly the oligarchs.

[…] Many Greeks seem to have no trouble separating their distaste for the deal from their feelings for Mr. Tsipras. Analysts say he would easily win re-election even now, with many Greeks seeing him as a man who gave everything he had to make things better, even if he did not succeed.

Whether he is able to keep his governing coalition together is a more open question. But experts think that behind closed doors he is making progress on that front, too, reminding his party members that they still have a chance to make a difference if they stay with him.

Tsipras faces his next big hurdle Wednesday, when the Greek Parliament decides whether to approve certain aspects of the European coalition’s bailout deal, including tax increases and pension cuts.

–Posted by Kasia Anderson