Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras laid out plans on Sunday to dismantle Greece's "cruel" austerity program.
In his first major speech to parliament since storming to power last month, Tsipras rattled off a list of moves to reverse reforms imposed by European and International Monetary Fund lender-- from reinstating pension bonuses and cancelling a property tax to ending mass layoffs and raising the minimum wage back to pre-crisis levels.
Tsipras said the Greek government cannot ask for an extension to its bailout because the bailout failed.
He did say that Greece wants to service its debt and invited its partners to join it in finding a way to work together while he respects the modus operandi of the euro zone.
He added that Greece will comply with the rules of fiscal balance and a balanced budget but at the same time deal with social destruction, putting an end to austerity and a humanitarian crisis. He did not condemn the Greek economy to everlasting recession with "illogical and unrealistic" primary surpluses.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, however, said on Sunday, that if Greece is forced out of the euro zone, other countries will inevitably follow and the currency bloc will collapse.
Varoufakis said Greece's debt problems must be solved as part of a rejection of austerity policies for the euro zone as a whole. He called for a massive "new deal" investment program funded by the European Investment Bank.