Kouvelis says memorandum could be tweaked

The leader of Democratic Left, Fotis Kouvelis indicated on Friday that his party is not rejecting Greece’s debt deal with foreign creditors out of hand but that some key changes to the agreement would be necessary to secure his backing.

“We can change some aspects of the memorandum,» Kouvelis told Skai television, referring to a 130-billion-euro rescue deal signed between Greece and its foreign creditors last month.

The prospect of Democratic Left cooperating with other parties in a coalition government would be subject to certain «red lines» which include Greece remaining in the eurozone, he said.

The soft-spoken leader did not rule out a second round of elections after the May 6 polls which are widely expected to produce a hung Parliament. «If there is no agreement, we will have to go to a second round of elections,» he said, noting that Greece’s creditors, though anxious for a speedy solution to the political upheaval, would have to wait.

As regards the prospect of an additional 11 billion euros in cuts for 2013 and 2014 that creditors are due to discuss in June with whatever government has emerged, Kouvelis suggested that there was a way to avoid further austerity. Curbing the black market by 4 percent and corruption by just 1 percent would bring in the 11 billion euros of revenue, he said.

Ekathimerini.com