egafd.com

Beware Greeks bearing huge fucking IOUs.....

number 6 wrote:

> Woudn't it be a fantastic middle fingered salute to the
> austerity merchants if these real left wingers get into power
> in Greece.

Yes because then they could capitulate like every other lying politician...

"Yes because then they could capitulate like every other lying politician..."

Yes Syriza caved in, but they didn't really have much option. The Greek banks would have gone kaput if they hadn't and no agreement had been reached.

As to every other lying politician, I am not so sure. I think Syriza were pretty na?ve. Hardly anybody in the Syriza government has much, if any, experience of government. Their Finance Minister is an academic. When they turned up for the first week or so of tours of European capitals, they clearly had no experience of diplomacy either in the way they got many EU Finance Ministers' backs up.

As to whether they have capitulated, we will see. The breathing space is only until Monday night when Syriza have got to come up with a long list of reforms in return for the extension of the bailout.

They could have left the euro, reintroduced the drachma, set their own interest rates and began the slow process of putting their economy and country back on track. The euro is a failure ? they know it, you know it, I know it, Brussels knows it but won't admit it because if it collapses so will, in time, the EU.

"They could have left the euro, reintroduced the drachma, set their own interest rates and began the slow process of putting their economy and country back on track"

Yes they could. However thee is no blueprint for this happening in euroland and in the short term things would be far, far worse than they are now for the Greeks because there would be a big devaluation of the Greek currency.

In addition, apparently there is overwhelming support for staying within the Europe among the Greek electorate. What they do want is an easing up of austerity.