ATHENS – “Unfortunately, today, four years after the country’s exit from the memoranda, we are again facing great difficulties and if we had not managed to settle the debt and leave a cash buffer, today the country would be in a major crisis,” main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras said on Friday in an interview with ANT1 TV.

The leader of the main opposition said that Greece currently has an inflation rate of 11.4 pct, cost of living increases which have crushed households and businesses, as well as structural problems. He added that Greece does not have a strong primary sector, does not have manufacturing, but a problematic production model and and energy inflation that is unmatched in Europe at 62 pct.

He emphasised that seven out of 10 households are unable to pay for electricity and have reduced consumption of basic products, adding that “the government’s responsibility is clear in terms of the way it deals with the crisis”. He said that “here we have a model of supporting profiteering” while “across Europe we have a wave of energy companies returning to state control.”