Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager Thursday confirmed it may be an option to delay payment of a new bailout package to Greece until after the April elections, as confidence in the country's political leaders has reached a low point.
In comments made in an interview with daily Het Financieele Dagblad, which were confirmed by his spokeswoman, De Jager said Greece is still behind in implementing measures that are required for the country to receive a next bailout of EUR130 billion.
"Confidence indeed has reached a low point," he was quoted as saying.
"Ideally, you would want to deal with leaders of whom you know they will also support the package after the elections.. But if this isn't the case, we have to find another way to secure that commitment," De Jager said.
De Jager said "it has been suggested" to wait until after the elections "because then you can agree that commitment with a new government."
De Jager also said that Greece could follow the same route as Italy, where a technocratic government is in charge of implementing budget cuts and reforms. "This could also be imaginable, but this is all speculation. In this option, you shouldn't have elections in the short term. This is now above the market."
De Jager also said that a Greek default is still undesirable but that the risks attached to such an event have decreased significantly.
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