Greece is being treated like a hostile occupied state

[Javaman]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11736779/Greece-is-being-treated-like-a-hostile-occupied-state.html

>snip<

The truth is that Greece was already bankrupt in 2010. EMU creditors refused to allow a normal debt restructuring to take place because it would have led to instant contagion to Portugal, Spain, and Italy at a time when the eurozone had no lender-of-last resort or defences.

Leaked documents from the IMF leave no doubt that the rescue was intended to save the euro and European banks, not Greece. More debt was shoveled onto the Greek taxpayers in order to buy time, both in 2010 and again in 2012, storing up the crisis that Europe faces today.

In an odd way, the only European politician who was really offering Greece a way out of the impasse was Wolfgang Schauble, the German finance minister, even if his offer was made in a graceless fashion, almost in the form of diktat.

His plan for a five-year velvet withdrawal from EMU – a euphemism, since he really meant Grexit – with Paris Club debt relief, humanitarian help, and a package of growth measures, might allow Greece to regain competitiveness under the drachma in an orderly way.


Much more at link...

[geek tragedy]

1. An occupied state who had no plan to ask the occupiers to leave.

They never even had a "what if" plan to deal with a Grexit scenario.

Not after getting elected while promising an end to austerity.

Not after starting negotiations with the EU creditors.

Not even after Donald Tusk point blank said the EU leaders would be considering whether to kick Greece out.

So, instead of using the Grexit as leverage, they pretty much declared their surrender preemptively.

Their idea of tough negotiations was painting a Hitler moustache on Merkel and comparing the creditors to terrorists.

[Depaysement]

4. I disagree

The battle has just begun. Think about it.

[geek tragedy]

5. who's going to sign up for more of what Greece has been going through? nt

[Depaysement]

6. I am not talking about signing up for anything

The battle in Greece with the EU is not over.

[geek tragedy]

7. there's not much of a fight. Greece has two options:

complete surrender, or be willing to leave the EU.

SYRIZA wasn't even willing to plan for the possibility of the latter.

[HooptieWagon]

2. There is plenty of blame to go around.

Greece, EU ( primarily Germany), and especially Goldman Sachs for hiding the Greek national debt.
It's simply not possible for the Greek economy to recover by increasing austerity....the patient won't recover by blood-letting.
What it boils down to is, how badly does the EU wish Greece to remain in NATO? I'm sure Russia would like some Eastern Med military bases and gas pipeline right-of-ways. They will subsidize Greeces economy to achieve that. Is that what Europe wants?

[PoliticAverse]

3. This is more the "receivership" phase of a pre-bankruptcy.

Last edited Tue Jul 14, 2015, 05:10 PM - Edit history (1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receivership