Tsipras' future in the balance as Greek crises mount

[unhappycamper]

http://www.dw.com/en/tsipras-future-in-the-balance-as-greek-crises-mount/a-19111467

The key challenge for Alexis Tsipras will be to rise above the incompetence and corruption that have plagued past Greek administrations as he juggles various crises. Pavlos Zafiropoulos reports from Athens.

Tsipras' future in the balance as Greek crises mount
Pavlos Zafiropoulos
12.03.2016

Even in the face of the rapidly escalating refugee crisis and with the all-important final bailout hanging in uncertainty, Greek voters wondering if Alexis Tsipras is up to the task of leading the country recently found themselves puzzling over the identity of one Himalayan cat.

The cat in question first made its appearance in a February 28 article in the Vima newspaper. The paper alleged that while still leader of the opposition, Alexis Tsipras held an off-the-books meeting with Stavros Psycharis, the head of the influential Lambrakis Press Group which owns the Vima and numerous other major media outlets. The article implied that Tsipras offered to help Psycharis write off his publishing group's debts in exchange for favorable coverage. The encounter was held in utter secrecy, the article concluded, aside from the presence of an 'enigmatic and austere' Himalayan cat which, "alone had the privilege to hear the request of the politician to the publisher for an …exclusive relationship, for a stable relationship of mutual support."

The article immediately triggered extensive speculation as to who, or what, the cryptic cat might represent. A former confidante of Tsipras? A hidden microphone? Varoufakis? What is certain is that it marked the beginning of a public and ongoing battle between the prime minister's office and the Lambrakis Press Group, one that cuts to the heart of the Syriza's government's key pledge to end the long-entrenched system of clientelism between political parties and business-media conglomerates in Greece. (For its part the Prime Minister's office has not denied the meetings took place but stridently rejects that Tsipras sought any sort of deal with Psycharis.)

Fighting for political survival

Of course Tsipras's current targeting of media barons may seem like small change in the face of the enormous challenges facing the country. And in a way it is. The common consensus is that Tsipras's future as prime minister depends on a successful bailout review by the early summer at the latest which would open the way for debt restructuring and a long-awaited economic recovery. Provided that Greece's lenders come to an agreement on what exactly Greece needs to do (which remains in the air), in the coming weeks Tsipras will need to push through tough pension cuts and other reforms through parliament.