Greece hails ‘day of redemption’ as its bailouts end
The country received a total of €289bn during its financial crisis, but now its prime minister says Greece can ‘determine its own fortunes and future’
Athens — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called Tuesday a "day of redemption" as he hailed the end of his country’s eight-year "odyssey" of painful bailouts. "Today is a day of redemption, but it is also the start of a new era," Tsipras said in a pre-recorded, televised speech from the Ionian island of Ithaca, believed to be the home of Homer’s hero Ulysses, and his speech was packed with references to the monsters and perils of the Homeric epic. Speaking a day after Greece’s third and final bailout ended, Tsipras said the country had "won back the right to determine its own fortunes and future" after living through a "modern-day odyssey" during the crisis. He said Greece had adopted €65bn worth of austerity measures and had lived in a "constant state of emergency". The embattled prime minister is looking to rebound from poor ratings exacerbated by last month’s wildfires near Athens that left nearly 100 people dead. Trailing the conservative opposition by more than 10 points, Ts...
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