IMF: Greek Deal Sucks

The deal that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made under intense pressure after 17 hours of talks is a lousy one that will doom the country to many more years of economic misery, according to the International Monetary Fund. A leaked IMF report says that Greece's level of debt is "highly unsustainable" and for its economy to have any chance of recovering, creditors will have to either write off much of its debt or extend payment deadlines by 30 years, reports the Guardian. The leaking of the report, which was presented to eurozone leaders before talks began, appears to be a "tactical move" from the IMF, notes the New York Times, which describes Greece and the IMF as "strange bedfellows."

The report reveals a serious split between the EU and the IMF on how to deal with Greek debt, and it was made public just hours before the Greek parliament was due to vote on the bailout plan, reports the BBC. In today's vote, Tsipras is unlikely to have the full support of his own left-wing party, which has been firmly opposed to tightened austerity measures like the ones the deal contains, notes the Guardian. Tsipras himself has strongly criticized the deal, saying "the policies imposed on us were irrational" but it was the best Greece could get, the AP reports. Ahead of the vote, one of the nation's two deputy finance ministers resigned in protest of the bailout deal, reports Enikos; per Reuters, Nadia Valavani said that "it is impossible to continue being a member of the government." (More Greece stories.)