Posted on 01/26/2015 12:57:20 PM PST by tcrlaf
Greek radicals sought on Monday to redraw the political map of Europe, forming a coalition government of left and right, united only by their desire to defy the European financial establishment and shrug off the constraints of austerity.
The coalition, led by 40-year-old Alexis Tsipras, was expected to dispatch its new finance minister to Brussels in the next few days to seek a fundamental renegotiation of Greeces economic bailout package, vowing that the end of humiliation has come. Tsipras and his Syriza party have promised to replace the austerity programmes imposed by Greeces international creditors with policies aimed at helping the third of the population now living in poverty.
Finance ministers from the eurozone, meeting at EU headquarters, responded cautiously, acknowledging the new political realities in Greece and offering to negotiate, while ruling out the straight debt write-off Tsipras is demanding.
A spokesman for the German government, which would have to approve and largely finance any new debt relief, said its position was unchanged by the Greek election.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
His FIRST official act was to visit the graves of 200 Greeks killed in a WW2 Nazi Massacre.
His first official meeting was with the Ambassador to Russia.
One of his first official statements is that Greece will stand against any new sanctions.
This is spooking the Euros so much that France's Hollande has extended an invitation for Tsipras to vist Paris for a meeting "Quickly".
Tectonic plates shifting again?
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.” —Alexander Fraser Tytler
I’m not sure how Merkel’s government feels about it, but the German people are essentially fed up with being the “pay master” for the Euro zone dead beats such as Greece. It’s from their pockets that the money is coming to pay for the “free lunches” dispensed for years throughout Greece.
The Greeks aren’t Mooslims, so don’t look for any help from The Won....
Toga party in Athens!
The only remaining European leader with familiarity of throwing good money after bad is the KGB colonel, Putin.
Yep. Our NEW demands are that we don’t have to back all of that money you gave us that we’ve already spent, PLUS we want you to give us a BUNCH more! Oh, and free ponies for all!
They can do like Obama and simply print more money.
This is excellent news.
Not for Greece, of course - sux to be them.
But debt as money has run its course, has to stop somewhere - why not here and now?
Except that nobody would take that printed Greek money. It would become about as worthless as Zimbabwe currency...if that’s possible.
Per Forbes, French Banks are holding $93 Billion Dollars in Greek Debt.
If Greece defaults, the French banks go belly-up.
The new communists in Greece wanting to crash the socialists/progressive EU/EURO project
popcorn please.
This won’t end well.
“They can do like Obama and simply print more money.”
As many have noted today, Tsipras now leads the Greek Central bank. They are authorized to print Euros.
If he decides to fire up the presses and print Euros as some kind of a stimulus, it could really crash the Euro. A real “Nuclear Option”.
And Greece doesn’t actually have to start making any payments on it’s latest zero-interest debt until 2022.
The European Central Bank just announced $1 Trillion (equivalent) in QE. They will buy up so many bonds from banks and pension funds, even after the PIIGS, the majority will be German bonds. Their QE (just like ours in the USA) is a big bail-out for the politicized big banks of the EU.
I will take your word for it.
I can appreciate the precedent that a nation leaving the EU would imply, but I think, rather than fully freak out over Greece which is an absolutely delightful country, (one of the coolest places I have ever visited but an economic basket case) they will preserve whatever it is they are trying to preserve and in deed and in fact not care. They will let Greece go. I could be wrong.
Supposedly they are authorized to print Euros.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3250890/posts?page=15#15
Dear Europe -
There will be a war. Fight amongst yourselves. We’re staying out of this one.
Best of Luck,
Your Pal,
The United States of America
So?
Face it.
The debts will never be repaid, the banks are all insolvent. Right now, this is the "global economy"
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