Apropos the report "Greek PM Tsipras says there is no going back to austerity" (March 17), it is a Catch-22 situation for Greece. The recently-elected Left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has made it clear that austerity measures will not be brought back. The new government in Greece won the elections after promising to do away with austerity measures and renegotiate the terms of a euro 240-billion bailout. The European Union (EU) wants Greece to reform the economy by toeing its line, and this is the crux of the problem. The people of Greece dislike austerity and the new government cannot go back on its election promises. Greece is awaiting access to the aid pledged to it by the EU and the International Monetary Fund. This has led to a cash crunch in Greece. With pressure mounting on Greece to pay back the loans and obtain fresh aid, Athens has to agree on reforms proposed by the EU.
In my school days, I studied about the Greek king Alexander (Sikandar in popular parlance in India) battling world leaders. Greece now needs a modern-day Alexander to get the country's economy back on the rails.
Deendayal M Lulla Mumbai
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