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September 04, 2012 at 05:39 AM
As Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), labors over a plan to soothe markets and save Spain and Italy from going the route of Greece, in Athens, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is doing his best to see that his homeland adheres to the terms of its latest bailout and avoids an exit from the eurozone.
However, despite his about-face from austerity opposition to austerity enforcer, public sentiment in Germany and Austria is rising against any further help to the beleaguered country, and across the world companies are staging dry runs for a Greek exit from the euro.
Reuters reported Monday that Samaras has the difficult task of bringing to heel a weak government coalition after having rising in popularity himself thanks to his opposition to the tough conditions imposed by the troika of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the ECB. It has been and continues to be an uphill struggle for Samaras, who must restore credibility on the world stage that Greece can honor the obligations imposed on it despite years of recession and high unemployment.
Samaras had set out days ago on a so-called charm offensive to convince political leaders that Greece should be granted more time to meet the conditions set for its bailout. However, opposition in some eurozone countries, notably Germany and Austria, where feeling against the bailout is already running high, has been rising.
