Greek leftist leader predicts social, economic collapse

(ATHENS) - Austerity measures imposed by Greece's international creditors will have led to social and economic collapse by the end of summer, radical leftist leader Alexis Tsipras warned Monday.

"The new measures will lead to a social crash and bankruptcy in September," he told a meeting of his Syriza, now the main opposition party.

The tough austerity programme imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in return for their massive debt bail-out was "not feasible, it is an aberration".

He called for an emergency European summit to discuss the Greek debt crisis, which is still troubling the markets and its fellow eurozone countries.

"The Greek problem isn't just a problem for the country, but is part of the European problem," he argued.

Auditors from the EU, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank return to Athens on Tuesday to see how far the government has gone in getting the 11.5 billion euros in spending cuts in 2013-2014 they require.

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras admitted on Wednesday that they still had some way to go to making the cuts required.

The troika auditors' report will determine whether Greece gets fresh loans of 31.5 billion euros ($38 billion) by September under its debt rescue programme.

Without the money, the Greek government will be unable to redeem maturing debt and keep up with salary and pension payments.

Tsipras' party based its election campaign on a rejection of the externally imposed austerity programme which has devastated living standards in Greece.

His party came second in the June 17 election, but pro-euro conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is leading a three-party coalition trying to meet the demands of its international creditors.

Stocks in Athens on Monday tumbled by 7.10 percent, with banks hit the hardest, ahead of the crucial EU-IMF audit and mounting fears that Spain was heading for a eurozone bailout.