Greece’s anti-austerity drive gets boost from Washington

Greece’s new government received welcome support from US President Barack Obama on Sunday for its efforts to loosen austerity programmes amid tough rhetoric from its European creditors.

The leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is in a race against time to secure greater leeway from its European partners as it seeks to deliver on a campaign pledge to reverse the belt-tightening measures stifling Greece's economy.

Its European charm offensive got a much-needed boost from across the Atlantic on Sunday as the White House warned that imposing tough austerity programmes on Greece could backfire on its creditors. When asked about the situation in Greece, Obama said the crisis-hit country would not deliver an economic recovery unless the government is allowed to pursue growth through fiscal stimulus.

"You cannot keep on squeezing countries that are in the midst of depression," the US president told CNN. "At some point, there has to be a growth strategy in order for them to pay off their debts to eliminate some of their deficits."

Obama said the Greek economy was in "dire need" of reform but warned that drastic changes were tough to implement in a struggling economy. "It's very hard to initiate those changes if peoples' standards of living are dropping by 25 percent. Over time, eventually, the political system -- the society -- can't sustain it," the US leader said.

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