Greek leaders agree to coalition government. (Photos by Associated Press/Kostas Tsironis)
Greece (MNN) ― After a tumultuous weekend that had Greece teetering on the brink of insolvency, the Prime Minister stepped down and leaders of the two main political parties reached an historic power-sharing deal that would pave the way for a massive financial rescue package.
Tasos Ioannidis with AMG International says, "The unity government should be formed in the next couple of days. The next steps would be to introduce the terms of the agreement in Parliament to ratify those, and then the Europeans should extend the next part of the loan."
The new government's mission will be to implement the October 26 European summit decision on a second Greek financing package of 130 billion euros ($178.7 billion).
The former deputy head of the European Central Bank, Lucas Papademos, emerged as the frontrunner with enough credibility and experience to keep things stable for now. Ioannidis notes that "probably, getting the unity government is the easy part. Implementing all the structural reforms that need to take place is going to be the hard part. A lot of work has to be done in a very short period of time, and then there'll probably be elections in probably February or March of next year."
Any new premier will have the job of getting the parties to work together, whether or not the leaders join the cabinet. The two parties have tentatively agreed that the election is likely to take place on February 19.
The sooner the better. Faith in the Euro project has been badly shaken. The road ahead has will be a hard one. "The Greek people have been told that it'll take 10 years to get out of this, so they know that it's going to be a very long time before the country recovers. They are worried about the future. They are suffering right now. There are no good solutions at this point, so they are trying to find the road that is least bad."
Austerity measures--a condition of the bailout loans--created deep pension cuts and added to the tax burden and job losses. This has helped to keep Greece in four successive years of recession. As a result, says Ioannidis, "We have seen the greater need of people asking for help. People have lost their jobs and they're trying to help their families survive, so we have a lot of people that are asking us for help. We also have a lot of people coming to St. Luke's Hospital asking for help. We are trying to do what we can with the limited resource that we have at this point."
AMG's ministry team has adjusted their outreach as the conditions have worsened. From the bookstores to St. Luke's Hospital, their mission is unchanged. They've flexed with the needs, which has cleared new paths. "There is an increased need for physical help. There is a desperation which means people also need spiritual help. There is more openness to the Gospel. We're trying to do what we can with limited resources at this point."
Funds are still needed to keep things moving forward. The hospital has been hard hit because the government has been unable to pay for services rendered. However, the AMG team urges prayer for the country's new direction, wisdom for the leaders and a peaceful transition. "Be praying that God will continue to open opportunities to share the Gospel. They need the hope that only can Christ can bring at this point. We need to be more active than ever in proclaiming the truths of the Gospel, in helping people in the point of their need."
