The Greek Government’s programme: an act of defiance or a call for compromise?

nternational media described the Greek prime minister’s address to the parliament on Sunday as “defiant” (BBC and Reuters for example). Yet, what emerged from the speech was a mildly coherent attempt to bridge the internal policy preferences with the positions of European creditors. The speech lowered reform expectations while at the same time refrained from challenging fundamentally the structure of Greece’s model of capitalism. In light of this we examine how progressive Greek government priorities can be deemed and what their underlying political purpose is, especially ahead of Wednesday’s Eurogroup meeting.