Country at a standstill

The timing of Tuesday’s disagreement between Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Deputy Labor Minister Tasos Petropoulos over whether the leftist government plans to pay a one-off benefit to public sector workers and pensioners in the form of an Easter bonus was not incidental.

Rather, it came at a tricky moment in the country’s post-bailout monitoring phase as Greece’s partners have been warning that Athens is falling behind on reforms.

However, the SYRIZA administration seems to be obsessing about other stuff – namely when and how it will disburse some 650 million euros in pre-election handouts.

It appears once again that the government’s sole preoccupation is SYRIZA’s election campaign. As a result, the country is at a standstill. The longer it lasts, the more it will cost.