Greek premier Alexis Tsipras has accused Europe's creditor powers of issuing "absurd demands" and come close to warning that his far-Left government will detonate a pan-European political and strategic crisis if pushed any further.Extreme neoliberalism? That's a new one. I think that's Michael Kinsley dipped in Sriracha.
Writing for Le Monde in a tone of furious defiance after the latest set of talks reached an impasse, Mr Tsipras said the eurozone's dominant players were by degrees bringing about the "complete abolition of democracy in Europe" and were ushering in a technocratic monstrosity with powers to subjugate states that refuse to accept the "doctrines of extreme neoliberalism".
"For those countries that refuse to bow to the new authority, the solution will be simple: Harsh punishment. Judging from the present circumstances, it appears that this new European power is being constructed, with Greece being the first victim," he said.
The Greek leader, head of the radical-Left Syriza government, issued a stark warning that his country will not submit to these demands and will instead take action "to entirely transform the economic and political balances throughout the West."
It's tough to say how much of this is brinksmanship, but watch carefully.
5 comments:
"This is SPARTA!"
Or, it's the bride calling off the wedding and wanting to keep all the wedding gifts.
It's hypocritical on the part of Greece, that's true. And yet, the creditor nations deserve to get shafted. They were pushers of easy money. Should they be offended when people get addicted and then can't pay up?
I wanted to write about what Ben wrote. The German banks (and others) gave the Greeks a lot of loans they knew couldn't be readily repaid, the Greeks took the loans with no credible evidence they'd be able to repay them, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for anyone? No matter what happens, both sides are screwed--as are we to a degree, since our financial system is linked to the Bundesbank, too.
To be clear, I don't feel sorry for anyone, either. Having said that, pissing off the Germans rarely ends well.
Even apart from the historic nature of German banking/culture, it can't end well for anyone. Someone is going to get shafted, and Greek credit is shot. Who, apart from idiot governments, is going to loan money to people who put Alexis Tsipras into power? Good luck if you're a Greek business looking for bond money, or if you're a company looking to invest in Greece. You've just been told that if your property is convenient for the government, it's as good as confiscated.
That ought to help jobs.
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