Greek offer to creditors stirs angry backlash at home

[Bosonic]

Source: Reuters

Greek lawmakers reacted angrily on Tuesday to concessions Athens offered in debt talks and parliament's deputy speaker warned the proposals might by rejected, puncturing optimism that a deal to pull Greece back from the abyss might be sealed quickly.

Euro zone leaders welcomed new budget proposals from Athens on Monday as a basis for further negotiations to unlock billions of euros in frozen aid and avert a default that could trigger a Greek exit from the single currency area.

Stock markets also cheered, with European shares extending the previous session's sharp rally and climbing to a three-week high on hopes of a deal. But the euro fell on fears the plan would struggle to win approval in Greek parliament.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was voted into office in January on a pledge to roll back years of austerity in a country battered by recession, must keep his leftist Syriza party as well as his creditors onside for a deal to stick.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/23/us-eurozone-greece-speaker-idUSKBN0P30EX20150623

[Beauregard]

1. Here's the meat:

Outspoken Syriza lawmakers voiced outrage at Tsipras's offer to raise a range of taxes as well as pension and healthcare contributions, which threaten to further increase hardship on Greeks reeling from previous rounds of austerity....

In its proposal, Greece pledged to lift the retirement age gradually to 67 and curb early retirement, but avoiding making concessions on some so-called "red lines" like direct pension cuts or a mooted tax hike on electricity.