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Of course there is no good faith, and Varoufakis has a principled opposition to piling more debt on an insolvent country. If Tsipras has appointed him finance minister and he has agreed, it's not to take the €7bn of the last tranche of the last program, or to agree to a "third program" worth €30bn to €50bn.

In addition, the Eurozone core is convinced, especially Germany, that the financial risks are finally ringfenced and Grexit is manageable.

Finally, Syriza is from the radical left, so it is ideologically opposed to the EPP and ALDE, and a direct competitor to the PES. What this means is that there isn't a government in the Eurozone, or an EU Commissioner, that is friendly to Greece's government. At most the Social Democrats or Labour politicians will be condescendingly sympathetic, and that if they're from Latin countries (up to and including Belgium - compare the attitudes of Van Brempt MEP and Dijsselbloem, both Socialists/Labour).

So Greek default is probably a given, and thus Varoufakis' job is to on the one hand help create the conditions for Greece to survive it, and on the other hand to contaminate European public opinion with as much good macroeconomic sense as he can. Hence the disarming honesty, the refusal to give ballpark figures he's not confident he can deliver on, the "I'm the finance minister of a bankrupt country", and the "If we are snuffed out by the vested interests, it will be our honour to have fallen in fighting the good fight".

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 Tue Mar 3rd, 2015 at 05:06:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
In addition, the Eurozone core is convinced, especially Germany, that the financial risks are finally ringfenced and Grexit is manageable.

I think this is key.

While Germany believes that Grexit is manageable, Grexit gets ever more likely, because what reason is there for Germany to compromise?

And it has to be clear eventually to Syriza that it is impossible to satisfy Germany and save the Greek economy.

Hence - Grexit.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Mar 4th, 2015 at 08:56:52 AM EST
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While Germany believes that Grexit is manageable, Grexit gets ever more likely, because what reason is there for Germany to compromise?

"Manageable" is not the same as "better than any alternative". The incentive can be that, while it may be manageable, a better situation could ensue without it.
For different definition of better, depending on what they care about. For some, it could mean how history will judge them. Regrettably, Schauble is too old to care as much about his future as we would like and seems intent on leaving the wrong kind of trail. But maybe others will see things differently.

Anyway, I am not saying you are wrong necessarily, just that it may not be as direct a conclusion as it seems.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi

by Cyrille (cyrillev domain yahoo.fr) on Wed Mar 4th, 2015 at 11:55:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Spain insists Greece will need a third bailout - live updates | Business | The Guardian

Spain's economy minister is happily wading in on the Greek debate again today after getting in to a bit of hot water earlier in the week.

Luis de Guindos is sticking to his guns, repeating his comment that Greece will need a third rescue in the region of €30-50bn.

De Guindos told a conference in Barcelona that Europe would use the four-month bailout extension secured by Greece to assess what progress has been made, and what the next move should be.

We have given ourselves these four months to one, see what the real situation is, to see how Greece has met conditions and to try and establish what happens next ... which is fundamentally a third rescue.

He added that ministers at next week's eurogroup meeting would consider Greece's liquidity needs and debt maturities.

De Guindos comment earlier in the week that the eurozone was working on a third rescue package for Greece ruffled a few feathers.

In response, a spokeswoman for eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem insisted that finance ministers were not discussing a third bailout.

One assumes he's talking about an extend-and-pretend package like the last two, on condition that the Greeks stick to the rules that ensure it will be unsustainable...

Still, it seems surprisingly honest and lucid of him to say it.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Wed Mar 4th, 2015 at 09:17:10 AM EST
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He's an asshole.

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 Mar 4th, 2015 at 10:09:56 AM EST
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