Zenyatta Faces Only Four in Apple Blossom

By Jason Shandler

 

There is no getting around it: Compared to what it was supposed to look like, the field for the April 9 Apple Blossom Invitational Handicap (gr. I) is a major disappointment.
A field of only five, led by undefeated two-time champion Zenyatta, was drawn for the nine-furlong Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. The race was supposed to have been a showdown between Zenyatta and Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandrauntil the owner of the latter announced last month that she would not be racing. Had the two sensational females met in the Apple Blossom, the purse would have been $5 million, the field likely would have included 10, and it would have been one of the most anticipated races in many years.

As it is now, the purse will carry $500,000 with Zenyatta the only horse having a grade I or grade II win on her résumé. Post time is set for 6:25 p.m. CST.

Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, and trained by John Shirreffs, Zenyatta arrived by plane from California  to Hot Springs, Ark., April 6 and was greeted by hundreds of fans at the airport before receiving a police escort to Oaklawn.

The 6-year-old daughter of Street Cry, perfect in 15 starts and with earnings of more than $5.6 million, has worked twice since beginning her season with a victory in the March 13 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (gr. I). Her last breeze came April 2 at Hollywood Park when clocked at 1:13.40 for six furlongs under regular rider Mike Smith.

Winner of the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) against males last November at Santa Anita, Zenyatta will be making her second start outside of California. Not coincidentally, it will be in the Apple Blossom, a race she won by 4 1/2 lengths in 2008 in her fourth career start. It was the last race in which Zenyatta did not go off as the favorite. She was the 9-5 second choice that time, with champion Ginger Punch finishing third as the 2-5 favorite.

Zenyatta drew post 4 with Smith in the irons once again. She will carry top weight of 123 pounds, four less than she did in her last start, and was installed as the 3-5 favorite.

The only other multiple graded stakes winner in the field is Larry and Cindy Jones’ Just Jenda (3-1). The 4-year-old daughter of Menifee won the 2009 Honeybee (gr. III) at Oaklawn and scored the Monmouth Oaks (gr. III) later that summer in New Jersey. That was Just Jenda’s last trip to the winner’s circle, as she has lost three in a row coming into this race including a well-beaten fourth in the Azeri (gr. III) March 6 at Oaklawn.

A winner of six of 13 starts for earnings of $480,680, Just Jenda will be ridden by Terry Thompson.

Though Rachel Alexandra will not be competing, trainer Steve Asmussen will have a starter in the form of Winchell Thoroughbreds’ War Echo. The 4-year-old Tapit   filly won the Silverbulletday Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds as a sophomore and later that winter romped in the DRF Distaff over the same course. But she comes off a fifth-place finish in the Azeri and is winless in both starts this season. Shaun Bridgmohan will have the mount.

The other starters are Westrock Stables’ Be Fair, and Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch’s Taptam. Be Fair enters out of an allowance victory at Oaklawn March 4, her first trip to the winner’s circle since taking an off-the-turf renewal of the Lake George Stakes (gr. III) at Saratoga last summer. Be Fair, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, was fourth to Rachel Alexandra in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and has not hit the board in any of her five grade I efforts. Calvin Borel will ride.

Texas-bred Taptam was ninth in the Azeri—her graded stakes debut—after consecutive wins to start her 5-year-old season. The Bret Calhoun-trained mare will be stretching out to nine furlongs for the first time.

Zenyatta improves to 16-0 with Apple Blossom win

Fri Apr 9, 2010 7:44 PM EDT

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Zenyatta and jockey Mike Smith parade in front of the crowd after winning the $500,000 Apple Blossom Invitational horse race at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., Friday, April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

— Zenyatta came to Oaklawn Park as visiting royalty. After romping to her 16th consecutive victory in the Apple Blossom Invitational, racing's queen stood before her adoring public and bowed her head twice.

At times more human than horse, Zenyatta high-stepped her way to the starting gate Friday in her distinctive Radio City Rockette style. She lagged behind early as usual before making a sweeping move through the stretch turn on her way to a 4 1/4-length victory.
"It's kind of hard to say if she's getting better and better because she's so good," said Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who never had to use his whip. "I was looking at the big screen in the stretch, to be honest, because at that point we'd already hit the front really easy."
The 6-year-old mare tied the modern mark shared by 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation and 1995-96 Horse of the Year Cigar in unrestricted races. Peppers Pride, who retired last year with a 19-for-19 record, and Hallowed Dreams, who won 16 straight, achieved some of their success in statebred stakes.
"We're just thrilled and delighted that she's won 16 in a row," said Jerry Moss, who owns Zenyatta with wife Ann. "So many people have thanked us personally for bringing the horse here. I think wherever we go, people will be happy to see Zenyatta."
She beat four horses in the 1 1-8-mile race that didn't include racing's other female superstar, Rachel Alexandra. Her owner passed on a chance to participate in what would have been a dream matchup worth $5 million if both horses had shown up.
Without Rachel Alexandra, the Apple Blossom purse reverted to $500,000, with Zenyatta earning $300,000.
Still, track president Charles Cella came out ahead. Instead of costing him $5 million, he lost $172,753 because of minus win and place pools. The rare negative win pool alone was $27,275.
Sent off at 1-20 odds, Zenyatta went four-wide leaving the final turn on her way to the front. She drew clear down the stretch to extend the streak that began 2 1/2 years ago. She's won all her races by a total of 33 3/4 lengths.
"The whole race she was really on," Smith said.
Zenyatta ran the distance in 1:50.71 and paid $2.10 and $2.10, rewarding holders of $2 win tickets with a 10-cent profit. There was no show wagering.
"The winner ran like who we thought she is," said D. Wayne Lukas, who trains third-place Be Fair. "This was great for racing. The good guys won."
Taptam returned $6.40, with jockey Cliff Berry saying, "She's intimidating. When I saw her coming, I started riding for second."
Be Fair was ridden by Rachel Alexandra's jockey Calvin Borel. Just Jenda was fourth and War Echo, trained by Steve Asmussen who oversees Rachel Alexandra, was last.
"That was incredible," Asmussen said. "We were no match."
After crossing the finish line, Smith guided Zenyatta back to the grandstand, patting her neck in between waving to the crowd of 44,973. He stopped her in front of them and raised his helmet to the sky as Zenyatta bowed to the cheers.
"It's priceless," said Dottie Ingordo Shirreffs, racing manager for the Mosses and wife of trainer John Shirreffs.
Zenyatta's triumph occurred a day after Personal Ensign was found dead at age 26 in Paris, Ky. Personal Ensign won all 13 of her career starts, including the 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff in which she came from behind to beat Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors by a nose.
"She was a great mare, and we were obviously complimented to be even thought of in her realm," Moss said.
Zenyatta won the Apple Blossom two years ago in her dirt debut, beating defending champion Ginger Punch.
Her other 14 wins have come on synthetic surfaces on her home circuit in Southern California, highlighted by beating the boys in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic in November.
Asked if dirt is her best surface, John Shirreffs replied, "Without a doubt. We've always said that, not everybody always listened."
Zenyatta overcame traffic in the stretch to win the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita in her first start this year.
She had no such trouble this time.
Zenyatta was last away from the starting gate, with Borel and Be Fair breaking from the No. 1 post and staying on the rail in his customary riding style. She began closing ground on the leaders around the far turn.
Down the stretch, Zenyatta loped along in a gallop with Smith merely holding on as the grandstand erupted in cheers.
"Going around the far turn, I kind of poked her out to get her ready for a run and she lengthened her stride, which she does every time," he said. "Riding her is a lot of fun."
(This version CORRECTS SUBS 18th graf to correct information on Personal Ensign's death; UPDATES final odds on Zenyatta; ADDS details on track losing money.)

Zenyatta on target for Apple Blossom

ZENYATTA WINNING BC CLASSIC

Benoit & Associates photo

by Mike Curry
The defection of Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra from the “Race for the Ages” did not leave Oaklawn Park completely high and dry as unbeaten two-time champion Zenyatta will continue to prepare for the Apple Blossom Invitational Stakes (G1) on April 9.
The six-year-old Street Cry (Ire) mare extended her unbeaten record to 15 on Saturday with a visually impressive victory in the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (G1). Trained by John Shirreffs, Zenyatta won by 1 1/4 lengths despite conceding from 11 to 16 pounds to seven challengers and traffic trouble in the stretch.
“We’re disappointed that we’re not going to be able to face each other in the Apple Blossom,” said Jerry Moss, co-owner of Zenyatta with his wife, Ann. “Hopefully, we can meet down the line. We respect both [trainer] Steve [Asmussen] and [majority owner] Jackson as horsemen, and they’re going to do what’s right for their horse. That’s all anybody could ask for.
“We’ll go on to the Apple Blossom as planned.”
Rachel Alexandra finished second in her first start in more than six months to the Shirreffs-trained Zardana (Brz) in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes. Asmussen and Jackson said on Sunday that Rachel Alexandra will not be ready for the Apple Blossom.
Zenyatta also made her season debut off a layoff of more than four months, but she dazzled with a sparkling return that will make her the overwhelming favorite for the Apple Blossom, a race she won in 2008 in her only previous start on a dirt track.
"I thought she'd come back and run like she did, but she actually ran better than I expected," regular rider Mike Smith said Sunday. "I thought she had plenty of chance [at the quarter pole]. I just didn't want to run over anybody."
Trapped in traffic in early stretch, Zenyatta looked like she might be in trouble. But after she found running room along the rail, Zenyatta closed with ground-devouring strides to take charge emphatically. Pacesetter Dance to My Heart finished second for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who continues to be amazed by Zenyatta.
"It's hard to beat a champion like her," Hollendorfer said. "Kind of everything went wrong for her, and she still won; so you've got to hand it to her, and she carried 127 [pounds]. Zenyatta's a true champion."

Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor

Greek debt crisis flares anew EU bailout likelihood looms larger

The Greek debt crisis broke out anew in recent days amid worries that Greece will not be able to overcome public opposition to deep budget cuts while support from the European Union remains wobbly and depositors appear to be staging a run on Greek banks.
The renewed crisis makes it likelier that Greece will need a bailout from the EU within weeks, analysts said, posing the first major test of the trading bloc's resolve to maintain unity in the face of immense fiscal problems in Greece and a long list of other member countries.
Greece's borrowing costs soared Thursday to a record 4.63 percentage points over the rates on German bonds, raising questions about whether Greece will be able to reduce its sky-high budget deficits even if it adheres strictly to deep budget cuts that have sent Greek citizens and labor unions into the streets in protest for weeks on end.
The beleaguered nation was pushed further against the ropes by an exodus of depositors from Greek banks in January and February and other bank funding problems that forced the country to exhaust funds it had set aside to shore up the banking system - leaving Greece with little wherewithal to address any further assaults on its teetering financial system.
Adding to Greece's woes, divisions reopened between Germany and other EU nations in recent days over the terms of aid they had pledged to provide Greece last month. Germany continued to insist that any loans to Greece should carry interest rates close to market levels, to discourage Greece from seeking a bailout, while France and other EU members favored providing subsidies to reduce the financial strain. Other questions surfaced about the concessions Greece would have to make in return for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) contribution to the backup financing plan.
"It's another Greek blowout," said Mark Frey, an analyst at Custom House, a Canadian foreign exchange firm, noting that the drama and complications surrounding the Greek financial tragedy are getting more tangled and histrionic by the day.
"The much-ballyhooed EU and IMF partnership cobbled together seemingly at the last minute in order to provide a backstop to Greece and lower the heavily indebted nations borrowing costs is unraveling, with more than a few eyebrows being raised at how we got to this point," he said.
"If a workable financing arrangement cannot be realized, the world is ultimately relying on Greece to enact painful fiscal austerity measures in an environment where the populace has been completely unwilling to accept that there is a significant problem to begin with," he said.
"Furthermore, going the IMF route is likely to have spending restrictions that equate to political suicide and, as such, Greek politicians will want to avoid the IMF. So, by no means have Greeces debt woes been resolved."
The EU/IMF backstop plan was originally designed last month to try to help stabilize Greek markets, thereby enabling Greece to keep borrowing on its own and addressing its own budget problems without a bailout.
"Unfortunately, the eurozone bailout plan has failed to have the positive impact expected," said Diego Iscaro, an analyst at IHS Global Insight. "The situation in Greece continues to be extremely worrying."
Given the intransigence of the Greek problems - and the EU's inability thus far to convincingly address them - the crisis is beginning to spread again after a hiatus of several weeks, driving up the borrowing rates for similarly debt-strapped European countries such as Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
As in previous episodes, Greece's renewed woes drove down the euro Thursday close to its lowest point against the U.S. dollar this year. Meanwhile, the value of the dollar and prices on U.S. Treasury bonds, where investors often stow funds during financial emergencies, increased. The heightened support for U.S. assets enabled the U.S. Treasury to enjoy a successful auction of a heavy slate of securities this week.
"With attention having turned to the Greek-yield explosion, we saw a flight to quality bid in Treasuries," and heavy buying of Treasuries by foreigners, said John Rocket Spinello, chief technical strategist at Jefferies Inc. He expects the "ongoing Greek saga" to keep driving investment into U.S. markets while hurting the European currency and markets.
Adarsh Sinha, an analyst at Barclays Capital Research, said the threat to stability from a run on Greek banks may have been exaggerated. Greek depositors, he said, may have decided that they can earn more by putting their money in Greek government bonds offering interest rates of more than 7 percent.
"It might be that these deposits are being moved to foreign banks, but it could also be that they are being put to work in some way," he said. "Clearly, such deposit-flight stories can be self-fulfilling." And in any case, Greek banks likely are offsetting flows of deposits into Greek government bonds by cashing in some of their own Greek bond investments to pay off the depositors.
"Fears about a vicious circle developing will likely remain alive," and ultimately may force Greece into the arms of the EU and IMF, he said. But the cost of IMF involvement will no doubt be high.
"Previous experience suggests that the IMF would prefer a larger upfront fiscal adjustment from Greece - in exchange for large upfront financing - that could include concrete commitments on such contentious areas as pension reform," he said. Barclays estimates that Greece will need a three-year joint IMF/EU package totaling 40 to 45 billion euros as the "minimum needed" to "calm markets sufficiently" so that Greece can continue to slowly overcome its budget and financial problems.

By Patrice Hill

Three-way poker in Greek debt crisis

ATHENS (Reuters) - The man at the center of Greece's debt crisis is surviving on 4-5 hours sleep a night and could not get to his office last week because it was blockaded by striking employees.

Crisis in Credit

"We know we don't have a blank check," Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told Reuters in an interview at a temporary refuge in a tax and customs administration building.
"We have public support as long as people feel everyone is bearing the burden equally."
Papaconstantinou is trying to make the most of a weak hand in a three-way poker game involving Greece, its European Union partners and the financial markets.
Greece needs to borrow or refinance 53 billion euros ($71.52 billion) this year, including 20 billion in April and May.
"We want to be able to borrow on the same terms as other countries in the euro zone," Prime Minister George Papandreou told a conference in London last Friday.
But investors anxious at the risk that Athens may be overwhelmed by its debts, projected to hit 120 percent of gross domestic product this year, are charging a steep premium to buy Greek bonds rather than benchmark German bunds.
The government needs to slash a huge budget deficit fast to assuage angry European partners and restore credibility in the bond markets, without squeezing voters so hard that it triggers a social revolt in a famously rebellious country.
Papaconstantinou is looking for clearer EU support to help escape a vicious circle of rising borrowing costs, harsher austerity measures, prolonged recession and diminished revenue.
Having owned up to a massive under reporting of its deficit and promised swift corrective action, Greece's negotiating leverage with its EU partners is mostly negative.
It can dramatize the risks for the entire euro zone if its debt woes get worse, it can point to the danger of social unrest if the EU forces too harsh austerity on Greeks, and it can threaten to go to the International Monetary Fund.
The government is doing a little of each while stressing its utter determination to meet steep deficit reduction targets.
"COLORADO DOESN'T GO TO THE IMF"
"The real threat, which they may eventually have to use, is not default, or leaving the euro zone, but going to the IMF," said Loukas Tsoukalis, a former top policy adviser to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"That would look serious for the euro zone because we share a common currency. After all, Colorado doesn't go to the IMF," said Tsoukalis, president of Athens' Eliamep policy think-tank.
Euro zone heavyweights France and Germany have insisted that the Greek problem should be handled within the European family.
After EU leaders declared their support on February 11 for Athens' deficit-cutting program and vowed coordinated action, if needed, to safeguard stability in the euro zone, markets were looking for a clear signal of how Europe would help Greece.
It didn't come. Debt spreads, which fell on expectations of an EU rescue package, have crept up again as markets see the public backlash in Germany and question Berlin's willingness to make any financial commitment to Greece.
These doubts come just as Athens is hoping to go back to the market with its next 10-year bond issue.
After talks with EU colleagues last week, Papaconstantinou said in the interview: "We need to give the assurance to markets that we are actually working toward a potential instrument of "xyz" type, so that we'll never have to use it."
He did not rule out seeking IMF assistance but he said there were no negotiations with the global lender now.
Seen from Brussels and Berlin, it is too early to ease pressure on Athens by spreading out a European safety net that would be deeply unpopular with German, Dutch and Finnish voters.
EU ministers reckon Greece should take more drastic steps quickly to cut its public wage bill, raise value added tax and further increase fuel tax to achieve a promised deficit reduction this year of 4 percent of GDP.
The government is waiting until after a one-day general strike by the two main trade unions this week against its public sector wage freeze, tax hikes and welfare cuts before deciding on any further measures.
Papaconstantinou hopes that by April, Greece will have impressed markets with the initial execution of its fiscal adjustment, won further approval from Brussels and secured a clearer EU guarantee to back its borrowing.
"My only choice is to accelerate what we are doing here, be as public about it as we can, grit our teeth until things quieten down and pay the higher cost," the minister said.

by Paul Taylor - Analysis

ATHENS

Questions and answers on Europe's debt crisis

 

Troubling news about the debt of some eurozone countries has hurt the euro currency.

LONDON (AP) — European and U.S. stock markets have taken a hit recently as investors worry about the debt crisis enveloping Europe, particularly in Greece. Here are some questions and answers on the debt crisis.

Q: Why is Greece in financial trouble?

A: The Greek government has spent too much for years. Markets became concerned about this in November after the newly elected Socialist government revealed that last year's budget deficit was more than three times as large as previously estimated. The EU says Greece's financial figures have been fudged for years.

With debt piling up to 113% of the economy, investors fear Greece won't pay its debts, in the form of government bonds — or will need a lifeline from other EU countries to meet its 54 billion euro ($74 billion) borrowing needs this year.

Q: How does that affect stocks and the wider economy?

A: Greece's debt crisis has global implications because it's the most visible example of the massive build-up in public deficits around the world after governments loosened the purse strings to mitigate the global credit crunch.

That means governments have to cut spending, raise taxes and divert revenues to pay off interest on their debts.

Furthermore, because of the worries that Greece may default, investors are demanding higher interest payments before they will lend any more money. The risk premium raises rates on assets, such as corporate bonds — meaning companies themselves find it more expensive to borrow.

Q: What is being done?

A: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has proposed deep budget cuts, a freeze on public sector wages, pension reforms, increases in fuel taxes and renewed efforts to rein in the rampant tax evasion in Greece.

The markets, however, are skeptical about the Greek government's ability to deliver, partly because the austerity measures could be met by mounting social and political discontent.

Q: And if that doesn't work?

A: Analysts think if Greece needs a bailout, it will get one. The recently signed Lisbon Treaty specifically allows EU countries to use EU money to bailout a troubled member but does not explain how. The International Monetary Fund says it's ready to help, although EU officials have ruled that out.

Q: Who else is in trouble?

A: Portugal and Spain are now also in the spotlight because their public finances have deteriorated badly during the last couple of years. Italy, Ireland and Belgium are also on the radar, while Britain, which doesn't use the euro but is a member of the European Union, has been warned it may lose its triple A credit rating if it doesn't introduce measures to bring its massive budget deficit down.

Q: What does this tell us about the euro?

A: This is the toughest test for the single euro currency since it was introduced in 11 countries in 1999. It is now used in 16 European nations.

Skeptics of the euro said there would come a time when the European Central Bank's one-size-fits-all interest rate would not work for the eurozone's 16 different countries with 330 million people. They argue that the last thing a country like Spain needs now, with its near 20% unemployment rate, is the government slashing spending to meet the euro's requirements that public debt be no more than 3% of GDP.

Believers in the euro think that countries like Greece are already benefiting just by being in the currency bloc — saving it from a painful currency devaluation.

Most economists think that a break-up of the eurozone is only a remote possibility. But European governments will be under pressure to come up with a better crisis management framework.

By Bertrand Langlois, AFP/Getty Images

Greece debt crisis: Greeks resigned to day of reckoning

Polls show that nearly two-thirds of Greeks support austerity measures to deal with the Greece debt crisis. But taxi drivers, facing new gas taxes, went on strike Thursday.

• 

Protesters hold a banner which reads in Greek 'we are struggling to live' at a protest in central Athens on Wednesday.

But as Greece’s eurozone partners prepare to bail the country out of its current debt crisis, the mood on the streets is as resigned as it is angry. Many Greeks say they know a day of reckoning has come.
“I’ve had this store for 40 years and business is worse now then it’s ever been,” said George Ziazios, who owns a flower shop in central Athens. “The government has to stop the tax evaders and cut the civil servants. They have to take action.”
For decades, Greek governments of every political stripe have caved to union and worker demands, meeting protests with promises of handouts. But the country’s current government, under pressure to cut spending, has pledged to break that cycle.

Tighten your belts

A year ago, when farmers blocked roads with their tractors, Greece’s government -- then controlled by the center-right New Democracy party -- gave them half a billion euros, more than $635 million, in loans and compensation for destroyed crops. This year, the four-month-old Socialist administration of George Papandreou held firm against similar demands. The government’s repeated message: There’s no more money in state coffers and all Greeks must tighten their belts.
Polls show that nearly two-thirds of Greeks recognize the seriousness of the problem and support the need for austerity measures. But the question is whether that support will hold as the measures begin to bite.
Taxi drivers are one of the first groups to feel the impact of the fiscal crisis. Facing new gas taxes and a change in the way their income tax is calculated they went on strike Thursday, leaving many Athens commuters struggling to get to work.
Stathis Dokoros says he usually brings in about €110, or $150, during each 12-hour shift, but that higher gas taxes will force him to put €20 of that back into the tank. The economic crisis has also cut the number of passengers by 10 percent.
“It’s hard work and little money, and it’s getting worse,” he says He joined the strike and turned out for the protest, but he acknowledged too that he wasn’t the only one hurting.
“We know we have to help, but it shouldn’t be just us,” he says. “They need to take the money from the rich people too and the ones who stole money, like the ministers.”

Leaders must sacrifice, too

That’s a frequent refrain here. Greeks say they’re willing to make sacrifices, but want to know their leaders aren't reaping the benefits. The government is trying to prove the pain is being shared equally and has announced caps for the salaries of chief executives at state-controlled companies and a 90 percent tax on bankers’ bonuses.
Greece’s government feared, and unions hoped, that Wednesday’s protest and nationwide strike by civil servants would launch a wave of popular resistance against the proposed austerity measures. But although another major strike is scheduled for Feb. 24, there’s no sense that public anger is about to boil over as it did in December 2008, when the Athens was hit by weeks of riots.
There is widespread acknowledgment that this mess is of Greece’s making. Most Greeks, especially older ones, credit the European Union and the euro with bringing political and economic stability to the country after decades of war and dictatorship. It’s their leaders they blame.
“It’s more expensive now, but if you have euros, you know what you have. With drachmas, you were never sure,” says Dimitris Psihogios, another taxi driver. “The European Union has been good for us.”

Mood could shift if cuts deepen

But the mood could shift if the cuts become deeper. Many analysts predict that any European bailout will come with harsh conditions and include demands for further cuts to public spending. George Pagoulatos, an associate professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business, thinks that would be a mistake.
“I think it would be wiser to focus on succeeding in implementing these reforms, rather than seeking further wage cuts and harsher measures which risk alienating society,” he says. “There’s another risk there -- that society will turn anti-European if these reforms are seen as being imposed by the European Union.”

By Nicole Itano, Correspondent