Greece is risking everything to avoid more years of brutal austerity. Foreign Policy suggests that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may be betting that he has one ace in the hole: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. If Putin were to offer to step in and save Greece, then even Germany’s hard-nosed Chancellor Angela Merkel may cave to avert Putin extending his reach:
And lurking in the background is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been conspicuously silent as the crisis escalated this weekend. Earlier this month, he met with Tsipras, and Russian officials have hinted they would consider giving Greece money to cover the $1.8 billion it owes the IMF by Tuesday. The last thing Merkel wants is a NATO member country allying itself with Moscow against Ukraine.
Perhaps Tsipiras is playing this angle. He now has three choices: 1) Accept European austerity, 2) get into bed with Putin, or 3) watch the Greek economy collapse around him. Option two would reshape Europe’s post-Cold War order. Maybe he’s betting that’s enough of a threat to get Merkel, and the rest of Europe, to cave to his demands.
Photo by Donkey Hotey via Flickr.