By Ellen Brown Remember when the infamous Goldman Sachs delivered a thinly-veiled threat to the Greek Parliament in December, warning them to elect a pro-austerity prime minister or risk having central bank liquidity cut off to their banks? (See January 6th post here.) It seems the European Central Bank (headed by Mario Draghi, former managing … Continue reading
John Rapley believes that ‘neo-medieval’ forms of governance are appearing on the global stage. In fact, this phenomenon may not be confined to the developing world. Embryonic forms of neo-medievalism have appeared in Greece and could spread to the rest of Europe. By John Rapley During the negotiations over an extension of Greece’s bail-out, the … Continue reading
So far Greece has not managed to secure a new debt agreement with the Eurozone. Panos Kammenos, the Greek Defence Minister, suggested that his country is willing to consider different options. He indicated that Greece could look for help outside of the Eurozone. On Tuesday, during one of the Greek television shows, Kammenos said “What we want … Continue reading
On Wednesday the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it would no longer accept Greek government bonds and government-guaranteed debt as collateral. By Mark Weisbrot Although Greece would still be eligible for other, emergency lending from the Central Bank, the immediate effect of the announcement was to raise Greek borrowing costs and squeeze its banks, and to … Continue reading
By Mark Mobius Greece’s ongoing debate about the best way forward has now played out at the ballot box, although many uncertainties remain. On January 25, Syriza, an extreme left-wing party led by Alexis Tsipras, won the biggest share of the vote in Greece’s elections, and it now has 149 seats in parliament, leaving it … Continue reading
By Wayne Madsen As Greece celebrates the inauguration of its anti-austerity government, the euphoria should be tempered with a bit of realism. Although new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who named his son Ernesto after Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Ché Guevara, and the vast majority of his new Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) government have good … Continue reading
By Joaquin Flores The sounds of champagne decorking and exuberant cheers among Syriza volunteers, supportive voters, and their struggling-but-comfortable socialist middle-class base within the intelligentsia and literati, could be heard across Athens’ cafes in the clean areas of town. Election results were finalized this evening in Greece, with a clear Syriza victory. But anyone expecting … Continue reading
The election result in Greece has pushed the euro to an 11yr low, falling below €1.11 to the dollar for the first time since 2003. Investors soured as anti-austerity party Syriza won a majority promising to renegotiate Greek debt and end austerity. Shared by Greece and 18 other eurozone members, the euro fell 8.94 percent … Continue reading
Alexis Tsipras has been sworn in as Greece’s prime minister after his antiausterity Syriza party won January 25 parliamentary polls. Earlier on January 26, Tsipras’s leftist party struck a deal with a right-wing populist party, the Independent Greeks, to form a government after Syriza fell just short of the majority needed to govern alone. The … Continue reading
By Ylli Përmeti SYRIZA’s victory can be attributed almost completely to the conditions created in Greece in the last five years or so, mainly by the Right-wing coalition in Greece. But, while the Right-wing coalition used ‘fear’ during these years, if not (trans) national terrorism,[1] upon the population, the “Left”-wing coalition of SYRIZA, created the … Continue reading