The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has accused Portugal and Spain of leading a conspiracy to overthrow his government.
In a speech to members of his party, Tsipras accused the two countries of trying to torpedo the testy negotiations with the European Union which finally led to the extension of the Greek bailout programme for another four months.
Tsipras said that there were those opposed to the Greek position, led by the governments of Portugal and Spain which for “obvious political reasons” tried to destroy the negotiations.
Their plan, according to the Greek PM, was make his government surrender unconditionally before its work began to bear fruit and before the Greek example affects other countries, noting that Spain and Portugal both have general elections this year.
In the same speech, Tsipras rejected criticism that his government had retreated in order to guarantee the extension of the bailout, adding that the anger felt by German conservatives was a sure sign that the Greek government had won some concessions.
Passos Coelho said this weekend that there were some countries that were far more concerned with the Greek situation than Portugal.
The Portuguese PM added that Greece has very tough road ahead. "May I express the wish that Greece remains in the euro and resists this difficult test, which is important for the entire European Union," but refused to say that he is confident that the Tsipras government will meet the conditions set by the Troika. "So far the only thing that happened is the extension of the loan and also of the programme."
However, the Spanish Secretary of State for the EU, Sr Méndez de Vigo, responded to the Greek prime minister saying that the problems of his country "cannot be solved with statements, but with reforms."
Portugal's stance, as expressed by Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque in mid-February, was that "There is a framework within which we are prepared to talk to the Greek government. That framework is the current aid programme, which is up for extension."
"But we are not prepared to talk under any other conditions. Everyone is agreed on this, all the 18 other eurozone countries, as well as the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund," the Portuguese minister added as if Portugal was in any sort of financial or moral position to make comments on Greece's negotiations with those that had lent it significant sums.
The Spanish Prime Minister said "We are not responsible for the frustration of the Greek radical left, which made promised it could not keep, as it turned out," speaking to an audience of supporters in Seville.
"Searching for an external enemy is a trick we've seen several times throughout history, but it does not solve the problem," added Rajoy.
"The only way is to be serious, and not to make promises that you know you can not keep," continued the Spanish PM.
Tsispras has his interim deal and a few short months to come up with solid proposals which must balance the needs of the Greek government for liquidity, and the demands of the Troika to which it is heavily indebted.
Meanwhile, Portugal and Spain have sent the European Commission and the European Council a joint protest against Greek Prime Minister's statements which accusing the two countries of trying to mess things up for him.
