Greece's Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos: We Do Not Need a Third Bailout

Greece's deputy prime minister Evangelos Venizelos has boldly declared that the beleaguered country does not need a third bailout despite record unemployment levels and an excessively long recession.

In a press conference, Venizelos said that Greece does not intend to ask for more money and it could escape a fresh bailout if it could return to the bond markets in 2014 and extend the maturity of its debt.

"Our point is not to transform the adjustment programme as a more loose programme, but to implement through a clever manner the existing programme," he said.

The comments come just days after Angela Merkel's historic election victory which saw her re-elected as the German chancellor for a third term.

Markets muse that it is unlikely that Merkel will change her tough approach to imposing harsh austerity measures on countries, such as Greece, which has been in recession for six straight years.

However, Venizelos said it was now time for a "re-evaluation and reassessment of our common European destiny" as the German elections were out of the way.

Venizelos Understands

Venizelos said he understood the tensions between Greece and its creditors that prevented Greece from going bankrupt with a €240bn ($325bn, £201bn) bailout package.

"We understand very, very well how difficult it is for every government to accept debt relief...Our demand is not debt relief. It is additional reprofiling without problem, without additional burden for our institutional partners," said Venizelos.

As the country's unemployment rate stands at 28% nationally, and over 60% for young adults, Venizelos warned "we are talking about the potential for a lost generation here".

"It is not possible to implement new fiscal measures. It is not possible to impose new cuts on wages and pensions," he added.

The far-right party Golden Dawn, which has made international headlines, entered the Greek parliament and won 18 seats in the June 2013 elections.

Greeks have often blamed the Germans for the tough austerity measures that have been the conditions for the two previous bailouts.

The economy has shrunk by nearly a quarter since 2008.