The new Greek government program | 171 comments (171 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (4.00 / 10)

I don't know whether "called their bluff" is the right metaphor. But I think that Greece came to this conflict with one (possibly unspoken) threat to back their position: if the door was shut in their face, they would leave.

Not only would Grexit create considerable shockwaves on financial and currency markets, but the (likely) modified relations of Greece with Russia, at a time when Turkey also shows signs of increased entente with Russia and the abandonment of EU ambitions, while the Balkans are far from entirely stabilised and Ukraine...

Whatever Schäuble and his ministry wanted, Auntie Angela has this big problem of getting out of the Ukraine mess without it blowing up in her face. I think she may well be more concerned with that at the moment, than the defence of orthodoxy wrt Greece.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2015 at 02:17:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (4.00 / 3)

As I said, Schauble didn't blink. Merkel put her hand over his face.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2015 at 02:56:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (none / 0)

Come June Greece can simply insist on being able to implement serious fiscal stimulus as part of its program. Let the Eurogroup hawks seek to destroy its banking system, with a back up in place, and let them try to force it to abandon the Euro, but make the whole process as painful to the financial sector and as damaging to Germany and the other hawks as possible. Litigate, litigate, litigate, but proceed. What do they have to lose?

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2015 at 03:41:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (4.00 / 2)

If we look at the whole process, yes.

However, last week the eurogroup looked ready to play hardball, and then they accept this program which is much better then what sounded accetable to the eurogroup last week.

Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se

by A swedish kind of death on Wed Feb 25th, 2015 at 05:13:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (none / 0)

Varoufakis still has his work cut for him balancing the books, though.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Feb 25th, 2015 at 05:24:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (4.00 / 2)

If there are actual books to balance, that would be a bonus.

by Upstate NY on Wed Feb 25th, 2015 at 09:33:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (none / 0)

And if there are not what does that say about the 'oversight' of the Troika?

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Feb 26th, 2015 at 04:01:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (4.00 / 2)

The Troika doesn't have oversight.

The Troika is the oversight.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Feb 26th, 2015 at 04:55:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (none / 0)

Guess it would mean "The Troika don't need no stinkin books!"

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Feb 26th, 2015 at 05:49:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This could have gone worse, no? (none / 1)

The revealed preference was to accommodate. The rhetoric was to force a choice by Greece, the actual consequences of which even Merkel was unwilling to test. Blinked.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Feb 25th, 2015 at 12:49:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The new Greek government program | 171 comments (171 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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