Times of London columnist Simon Nixon: ‘Greece’s hard work on debt may be undone by a left-wing government

Times of London columnist Simon Nixon joined in on Greece’s pre-election campaign on Thursday with an opinion piece entitled “Greece’s hard work on debt may be undone by a left-wing government.”

With a general election scheduled for Sunday, and with incumbent New Democracy (ND) party attempting to achieve a first-past-the-post showing against leftist rival SYRIZA, Nixon, who’s previously touched on Greek issues, notes:

“Greece’s recovery from a country on the brink of a cataclysmic debt default to one on the brink of a return to investment-grade status is one of the more remarkable financial turnaround stories of modern times. Eight years ago, Greece was effectively bankrupt, its banks closed and a newly elected radical left-wing government engaged in a reckless brinkmanship with the country’s international lenders amid talk of it quitting, or being ejected from, the eurozone. Today it is one of the fastest-growing countries in the eurozone, its debt level is falling fast and, providing Greece sticks to its current economic course, its credit rating is likely to be upgraded to BBB, regaining its investment-grade status.”

He also emphasized this week’s high-profile warnings by Bank of Greece (BoG) Yannis Stournaras, who cited meager “fiscal space” available to implement parties’ pre-election spending promises, as well as a need to return to the achievement of annual primary budget surpluses.