Syriza

Greeks Watch Passively as Government Drains Them Dry

by

Greeks Watch Passively as Government Drains Them Dry.jpg

– Greeks Watch Passively as Government Drains Them Dry:

If one had asked any Greek exactly one year ago, that the full of promises SYRIZA party would come to power to finish off the crisis-stricken Greek economy and drain his personal wealth, with his blessing, he would have called them a lunatic.

Yet, a year later, the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition has legislated measures and reforms that would have made even the most strict neoliberal wince. Pension cuts, tax hikes, taxation of nonexistent incomes, monitoring personal wealth, capital controls, privatizing state properties, home auctions, raising retirement age, are some of the measures and reforms that the self-proclaimed leftist ruling party is forcing on the shoulders of Greek people.

Read moreGreeks Watch Passively as Government Drains Them Dry

An Exasperated Tsipras Calls For Syriza Referendum On Bailout Cancellation

by

Tsipras

– An Exasperated Tsipras Calls For Syriza Referendum On Bailout Cancellation (ZeroHedge, July 30, 2015):

Anyone who thought Greece’s third bailout program was a done deal or that, at the very least, the market would get a few months of respite before having to grapple with daily Grexit headlines again, got a rude awakening late last week when reports of a secret plot (hatched by ex-Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis along with several Left Platform co-conspirators) to storm the Greek mint and seize the country’s currency reserves underscored the deep divisions within Syriza and betrayed the extent to which passing a third set of prior actions and sealing the deal on an ESM program would prove to be anything but simple.

Just days after Lafazanis’ plan leaked last week, Kathimerini claimed it had transcripts from a conference call between former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and international hedge fund managers during which Varoufakis described yet another secret ploy to return the country to the drachma by way of establishing a parallel payments system set up using surreptitiously obtained tax filer ID numbers. Later, the full audio recording was released.

Read moreAn Exasperated Tsipras Calls For Syriza Referendum On Bailout Cancellation

Greek Economy Faces Total Collapse As Doctors Flee, Retail Sales Plunge 70%

by

greece

– Greek Economy Faces Total Collapse As Doctors Flee, Retail Sales Plunge 70%  (ZeroHedge, July 28, 2015):

Back in May we outlined the cost to the Greek economy of each day without a deal between Athens and creditors.

At the time, a report from the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Enterprises showed that 60 businesses closed and 613 jobs were lost for each business day that the crisis persisted without a resolution.

Since then, things have deteriorated further and indeed, with the imposition of capital controls, businesses found that supplier credit was difficult to come by, leading to the very real possibility that Greece would soon face a shortage of imported goods, something many Greeks clearly anticipated in the wake of the referendum call as evidenced by the lines at gas stations and empty shelves at grocery stores.

As a reminder, here’s what WSJ said earlier this month: 

Read moreGreek Economy Faces Total Collapse As Doctors Flee, Retail Sales Plunge 70%

Reports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis

by

Tsipras-hand-sign

– Reports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis (ZeroHedge, July 26, 2015):

On Friday, we brought you the shocking story of the rebellion that never was in Greece.

According to FT, Former Greek Energy Minister and maverick among mavericks Panayotis Lafazanis convened a “secret” meeting at the Oscar Hotel in Athens on July 14 at which he attempted to convince Syriza hardliners (including, in FT’s words, “supporters of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez [and some] old-fashioned communists”) to storm the Greek mint, seize the country’s currency reserves, and, if necessary, arrest central bank governor Yannis Stournaras.

Lafazanis

(Lafazanis)

Obviously, the plan was never implemented, but if the story is even partly true it betrays the degree to which Greece teetered on the edge of social upheaval and even civil war in the days that followed PM Alexis Tsipras’ decision to concede to creditors’ demands and abandon not only Syriza’s election mandate but the very referendum outcome he had himself campaigned for just days prior. 

Read moreReports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis

Syriza “Rebels” Planned To Ransack Greek Mint, Seize Cash Reserves, Arrest Central Bank Governor

by

– Syriza “Rebels” Planned To Ransack Greek Mint, Seize Cash Reserves, Arrest Central Bank Governor (ZeroHedge, July 24, 2015):

Earlier this week, in an FT op-ed, Eurointelligence’s Wolfgang Münchau said that in his estimation, an EMU exit remains the most likely outcome for Greece. The reason, Münchau explained, is that “[Greek PM Alexis] Tsipras ended up with another very lousy bailout deal. And this one suffers from the same fundamental flaws as its predecessors.” Münchau went on to describe, in vivid detail, how he believes a Grexit would unfold:

My own most likely Grexit scenario is a different one yet again. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, hinted at this in his interview with the Financial Times last week when he said that he felt “something revolutionary” in the air. He is on to something. The most probable scenario for me is Grexit through insurrection.

Whether he knew it when he penned those words or not, Münchau’s vision for Greece nearly unfolded just over a week ago when, according to FT, Syriza’s Left Platform (led by outspoken former Energy Minister Panayotis Lafazanis) met in at the Oscar hotel in a “shabby” downtown district of Athens and plotted to ransack the Greek mint, seize the country’s currency reserves, and arrest central bank chief Yannis Stournaras.

Read moreSyriza “Rebels” Planned To Ransack Greek Mint, Seize Cash Reserves, Arrest Central Bank Governor

Presenting The “Greek Terms Of Surrender” As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis

by

– Presenting The “Greek Terms Of Surrender” As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis (ZeroHedge, July 15, 2015):

The Greek “deal” has already been dubbed “a new Versailles Treaty” for good reason: for Greece, the agreement which effectively abdicates sovereignty to Germany, is precisely that.

And while few if any in Greece – and certainly its parliament – have carefully read the actual contents of the Summit statement, and instead are rushing to pass the deal with hopes that just approving its contents may lead to the ECB blessing a prompt reopening of banks so Greeks can resume withdrawing their frozen deposits before the public realizes it was betrayed by its rulers, one person who has read it is the former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

And not only that: just hours before what may be the most critical vote in Greek history, he has released an annotated version of what the Euro Summit statement really means for Greece.

In his words: The Euro Summit statement (or Terms of Greece’s Surrender – as it will go down in history) follows, annotated by yours truly. The original text is untouched with my notes confined to square brackets (and in red). Read and weep… [For a pdf copy click here.]

Full annotated statement:

Read morePresenting The “Greek Terms Of Surrender” As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis

HUMANITY vs INSANITY: The Greek Tragedy Pt2 – ‘There Is No Way That Greece Can Ever Recover From This’ – with F. William Engdahl (Video)

by

FYI.


Jul 14, 2015

Description:

Read moreHUMANITY vs INSANITY: The Greek Tragedy Pt2 – ‘There Is No Way That Greece Can Ever Recover From This’ – with F. William Engdahl (Video)

Complete Humiliation: Greek Parliament Pressed To “Approve” German “Coup”

by

– Complete Humiliation: Greek Parliament Pressed To “Approve” German “Coup” (ZeroHedge, July 14, 2015):

Months ago we said the following about the future of Greek politics:

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Syriza show will ultimately have to be canceled in Greece (or at least recast) if the country intends to find a long-term solution that allows for stable relations with European creditors although it may be time for Greeks to ask themselves if binding their fate to Europe is in their best interests given that some EU officials seem to be perfectly fine with inflicting untold economic pain upon everyday Greeks if it means usurping the ‘radical leftists.’

At the risk of overstating the case, that assessment has now proven to be almost entirely accurate. 

Read moreComplete Humiliation: Greek Parliament Pressed To “Approve” German “Coup”

Greek bailout deal highlights monumental scale of Syriza’s betrayal

by

– Greek bailout deal highlights monumental scale of Syriza’s betrayal (WSWS, July 14, 2015):

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has signed up to an agreement that transforms Greece into a de facto colony of the European Union and places the country under the dictates of Germany.

What remains of the Greek economy, above all its most valuable assets, is to be pillaged so that Athens can continue to pay back loans from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Greece is to be placed under the direct control of EU officials. The function of Greece’s parliament will be to rubber-stamp the transfer of real authority to Brussels and Berlin. It has until Wednesday to pass a series of laws implementing the demands of German imperialism and the EU.

Read moreGreek bailout deal highlights monumental scale of Syriza’s betrayal

Someone Pull The Plug Or This Will End In War

by

– Someone Pull The Plug Or This Will End In War (The Automatic Earth, July 10, 2015):

I was going to write up on the uselessness of Angela Merkel, given that she said on this week that “giving in to Greece could ‘blow apart’ the euro”, and it’s the 180º other way around; it’s the consistent refusal to allow any leniency towards the Greeks that is blowing the currency union to smithereens.

Merkel’s been such an abject failure, the fullblown lack of leadership, the addiction to her right wing backbenchers, no opinion that seems to be remotely her own. But I don’t think the topic by itself makes much sense anymore for an article. It’s high time to take a step back and oversee the entire failing euro and EU system.

Greece is stuck in Germany’s own internal squabbles, and that more than anything illustrates how broken the system is. It was never supposed to be like that. No European leader in their right mind would ever have signed up for that.

Read moreSomeone Pull The Plug Or This Will End In War

Greece Contemplates Nuclear Options: May Print Euros, Launch Parallel Currency, Nationalize Banks

by

acropolis now

– Greece Contemplates Nuclear Options: May Print Euros, Launch Parallel Currency, Nationalize Banks (ZeroHedge, July 5, 2015):

As we said earlier today, following today’s dramatic referendum result the Greeks may have burned all symbolic bridges with the Eurozone. However, there still is one key link: the insolvent Greek banks’ reliance on the ECB’s goodwill via the ELA. While we have explained countless times that even a modest ELA collateral haircut would lead to prompt depositor bail-ins, here is DB’s George Saravelos with a simplified version of the potential worst case for Greece in the coming days:

Read moreGreece Contemplates Nuclear Options: May Print Euros, Launch Parallel Currency, Nationalize Banks

Greek referendum no vote signals huge challenge to eurozone leaders

by

 H/t reader M.G.:

“Another great article, how the Greek vote against the greedy guts gives great challenges to the EU leaders, not just the greedy cow running Germany……Merkel (of course), along with the head of the IMF, and a few others, all will be needing new jobs. This is a huge slap in their faces, well deserved, but the economic pain their investors are now experiencing will get them out of office very quickly. Good riddance.”

Victory by Syriza party of 60% to 40% in polarising referendum presents nightmare for eurozone elites, particularly Germany’s Angela Merkel

No vote supporters hold a banner during celebrations in Athens
No vote supporters hold a banner during celebrations in Athens as results begin to indicate a clear victory against eurozone austerity measures. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters

– Greek referendum no vote signals huge challenge to eurozone leaders (Guardian, July 5, 2015):

Greece delivered a landslide no vote to the eurozone’s terms for the country remaining in the single currency on Sunday night, unleashing a seismic political shift that could derail the European project. The verdict confronts the EU’s leadership with one of its most severe ­crises of confidence and leaves Greece facing potential financial collapse and exit from the euro.

In a polarising referendum called by the radical leftist government of Alexis Tsipras at only eight days notice, Greeks voted by more than 60% to 40% in support of the prime minister, spurning the extra austerity demanded mainly by Germany and the International Monetary Fund in return for an extension of bailout funds.

Read moreGreek referendum no vote signals huge challenge to eurozone leaders

Greece and eurozone leaders in last-ditch scramble to reach deal

by

H/t reader M.G.:

“Unless all three creditors agree that Greece can borrow more money to make a payment………nothing will work? Reading this article tells me the entire plan is insane…………..“

Greece

– Greece and eurozone leaders in last-ditch scramble to reach deal (Guardian, June 21, 2015):

Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, is thought to have offered concessions on VAT and pensions in return for some form of eventual debt relief

The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, and European leaders were attempting to stitch together a last-minute Greek bailout deal on Sunday following a frantic round of phone calls to discuss an outline agreement.

The high-level diplomacy comes as eurozone finance ministers and their government leaders prepare for a key summit in Brussels on Monday that could determine whether or not Greece remains a member of the group.

Read moreGreece and eurozone leaders in last-ditch scramble to reach deal

“Horrified” Syriza Hardliners Back “Immediate” Greek Bank Nationalization, Euro Exit

by

Tsipras-Hope

– “Horrified” Syriza Hardliners Back “Immediate” Greek Bank Nationalization, Euro Exit (ZeroHedge, June 16, 2015):

Caught between a recalcitrant Left Platform and exasperated creditors, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras must decide how he wants history to remember his tenure as Prime Minister. Either he will be the leader who allowed Greece to crash out of the euro on its way to a redomination-driven economic collapse, or he will go down as the fiery advocate for change who caved under pressure and allowed the troika to stamp out democracy in the place where it was born. 

…

 

‘Last Chance’ Greek Bailout Talks End Without Deal

by

Tsipras

– “Last Chance” Greek Bailout Talks End Without Deal (ZeroHedge, June 14, 2015):

The writing was already on the wall after several EU officials expressed reservations about the feasibility of striking any sort of compromise with Greece’s negotiating team in Brussels on Sunday, and now it’s official. Talks have once again ended with no deal as the Greeks are standing their ground on pension cuts and VAT hikes.

More color from Bloomberg:

Read more‘Last Chance’ Greek Bailout Talks End Without Deal

Greece Was 20 Votes Away From Defaulting This Weekend

by

– Greece Was 20 Votes Away From Defaulting This Weekend (ZeroHedge, May 25, 2015):

Over the weekend, in a surprisingly close vote showing just how deeply the ruling Greek Syriza party has splintered, the hard line “Left Platform” a faction within Syriza, proposed that Greece stop paying its creditors if they continue with “blackmailing tactics” and instead seek “an alternative plan” for the debt-racked country. Its motion called for the government to default on the IMF loans rather than compromise to creditor demands, among which a change to value-added tax rates, further liberalization of the labor market and changes to the pension system, including further cuts to pensions and wages. According to the NYT, which reported the vote first, the proposal was narrowly rejected, with 95 people voting against and 75 in favor.

…

Stunned Greeks React To Initial Capital Controls And The ‘Decree To Confiscate Reserves’, And They Are Not Happy

by

Greece Financial Crisis Riots
Riots in 2011

… to be repeated in 2015 (?)

Related info:

– After Pillaging Pensions, Greece Raids Utilities To Repay Troika; Bonds Plunge As Bank Run Accelerates

– Stunned Greeks React To Initial Capital Controls And The “Decree To Confiscate Reserves”, And They Are Not Happy (ZeroHedge, April 20, 2015):

Earlier today, following weeks of speculation, Greece finally launched the first shot across the bow of capital controls, when it decreed that due to an “extremely urgent and unforeseen need” (ironically the need was quite foreseen since about 2010, but that is a different story), it would be “obliged” to transfer – as in confiscate – “idle cash reserves” located across the country’s local governments (i.e., various cities and municipalities) to the Greek central bank.

Several hours later the decree which was posted in the government gazette has finally percolated among the population, and the response to what even ordinary Greeks realize is now the endgame, is less than exuberant.

Read moreStunned Greeks React To Initial Capital Controls And The ‘Decree To Confiscate Reserves’, And They Are Not Happy

Greece Demands €278 Billion WWII Reparations From Germany – More Than Its Debt To EU

by

Spiegel Greece Merkel

– Greece demands €278bn WWII reparations from Germany – more than its debt to EU (RT, April 7, 2015):

Germany owes Greece no less than €278.7 billion in World War II reparations, Athens said, referring to the destruction wrought upon the nation during the Nazi occupation. The sum exceeds Greece’s total debt of €240 billion to the EU.

“According to our calculations, the debt linked to German reparations is €278.7 billion euros, including €10.3 billion for the so-called forced loan. All the other amounts are related to allowances for individuals or infrastructure,” said the country’s deputy finance minister, Dimitris Mardas.

The figure was calculated by a parliamentary committee and the Greek supreme court. The numbers have previously varied between €269 billion and €332 billion.

Mardas added that at the 1946 Paris Conference the amount of reparations was set at $341.2 billion.

Read moreGreece Demands €278 Billion WWII Reparations From Germany – More Than Its Debt To EU

Greek PM To Meet With Putin Amid Cash Crunch

by

Varoufakis-TsiprasPutin

– Greek PM To Meet With Putin Amid Cash Crunch (ZeroHedge, March 17, 2015):

With Greece digging around in the couch cushions to try and scrape up €2 billion by Friday in order to make payments to the IMF, the ECB, and Goldman, and with celebrity FinMin Yanis Varoufakis doing his absolute best to sink the entire ship with a series of epic PR faux pas, one is left to wonder just where Athens will turn when Berlin and Brussels finally reach the end of their ropes with what increasingly looks like gross incompetence in the Aegean. We may have gotten the answer to that question today via Reuters:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will visit Moscow on April 8 after being invited to talks by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Greek government official said on Tuesday.

Greece’s government has previously said Putin had invited Tsipras to visit Moscow on May 9 and it was not immediately clear if that trip had been changed. It would be Tsipras’s first official visit to Moscow since being elected in January.

There you have it. As Syriza faces the unenviable proposition of either completely giving up on its campaign promises or plunging the Greek economy and banking system into a drachma death spiral, it appears as though Athens is playing the one card it has left, which is threatening to effectively surrender itself to the Kremlin. As Reuters notes, this wouldn’t be the first time Greece has (maybe) inadvertently created speculation around the possibility that Moscow could end up being the White (or Red) Knight: 

Read moreGreek PM To Meet With Putin Amid Cash Crunch

Greece “Risks Bankruptcy” As Europe Rejects Varoufakis Payment Plan; Another Referendum Fiasco Ensues

by

– Greece “Risks Bankruptcy” As Europe Rejects Varoufakis Payment Plan; Another Referendum Fiasco Ensues (ZeroHedge, March 8, 2015):

There was one reaction by the Eurogroup following the (delayed) submission of the Greek 7-point reform proposal – which includes the brilliant idea to use foreign tourists as wired, part-time tax spies – in advance of the latest Monday finmin meeting: laughter.

Financial Times reports that the reaction from eurozone officials to the tourist plan was received with humor. They thought the proposal was hilarious and even laughed when they read it. “It’s quite hilarious, if it were not so tragic, that this is what a government in an industrialised country comes up with,” said one eurozone official involved in the talks.

There will be little laughter in cash-strapped Greece, however, if the Sunday Times is correct in its report that the “Eurogroup finance ministers are to reject radical reform proposals from Greece at a meeting in Brussels tomorrow.”

Read moreGreece “Risks Bankruptcy” As Europe Rejects Varoufakis Payment Plan; Another Referendum Fiasco Ensues

AND NOW: Greek Government Considers “BORROWING” From Pension Funds To Repay IMF

by

– As Greek Default Fears Return, Government Considers “Borrowing” Pensions To Repay IMF (ZeroHedge, March 2, 2015): 

Greek short-term default risk jumped over 300bps today putting the odds of a restructuring at 50-50 within the next year as the warnings we issued last week with regard Greece’s imminent default on its IMF loan loom. Seeking to reassure its lenders (and avoid yet more capital flight), Reuters reports the Greek government said it was “exploring solutions,” including delaying payments to suppliers or try to raise up to 3 billion euros by borrowing from state entities such as pension funds.   

Read moreAND NOW: Greek Government Considers “BORROWING” From Pension Funds To Repay IMF

The Reason Why The Eurogroup Rushed To Approve The Greek Reform Package?

by

Update:

– About The Authorship Of The Infamous “Greek Reforms” Memo

You can’t make this stuff up!

– The Reason Why The Eurogroup Rushed To Approve The Greek Reform Package? (ZeroHedge, Feb 24, 2015):

As we noted earlier today, there was some confusion over the plight of the Greek reform proposal document, which initially was said to have been delayed until today, only for the Troika, pardon, Institutions, to flip around and say they had actually received it before midnight on Monday. How could the two be possible? Courtesy of Yannis Koutsomitis, who had the simple but profound idea of looking at the properties tab in the leaked Varoufakis draft of the agreed to proposals, we now know.

As it turns out, the reason why not only the Troika received an agreed to version of the Greek reform proposals “before midnight on Monday”, but rushed these through with a favorable agreement today, is that, drumroll, the European Commission drafted the entire letter!

declan costello letter_1_0

All Yanis Varoufakis had to do was agree to the letter that the Troika had previously written and agreed in advance was agreeable to it, and send it back. The skeptics are encouraged to play around the original pdf “leak” found here.

Read moreThe Reason Why The Eurogroup Rushed To Approve The Greek Reform Package?

Troika ‘Happy’ With Revised List Of Greek Reform Promises: Full Varoufakis Letter

by

– TRoiKa SToCKHoLM SYNDRoMe…:

TRoiKa SToCKHoLM SYNDRoMe...

yanis schauble shaking hands

–  Troika “Happy” With Revised List Of Greek Reform Promises: Full Varoufakis Letter (ZeroHedge, Feb 24, 2015):

Update:

  • EU COMMISSION SAYS GREEK LIST `SUFFICIENTLY COMPREHENSIVE’
  • COMMISSION: GREEK LIST STARTING POINT FOR REVIEW CONCLUSION

So one can say that can has been kicked for another four months.

Read moreTroika ‘Happy’ With Revised List Of Greek Reform Promises: Full Varoufakis Letter

Greece Misses 1st Commitment: Delays Reform List Delivery Until Tuesday

by

– Greece Misses 1st Commitment: Delays Reform List Delivery Until Tuesday (ZeroHedge, Feb 23, 2015):

Well that didn’t take long…

  • *GREECE TO SUBMIT LIST OF REFORM COMMITMENTS TO EU TOMORROW: OFFICIAL

So we are less than 3 days into the ‘new deal’ and Greece has missed its first deadline. We can’t help but wonder if the initial draft, just as we warned, was thrown up all over by the Germans.

As George Saravelos, strategist at Deutsche Bank notes:

Read moreGreece Misses 1st Commitment: Delays Reform List Delivery Until Tuesday

Greek Infighting Begins After Historic Syriza Member Slams Agreement, Apologizes For “Contributing To Illusion” Of Change

by

Manolis Glezos

– Greek Infighting Begins After Historic Syriza Member Slams Agreement, Apologizes For “Contributing To Illusion” Of Change (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2015):

As the divergence between Syriza’s leadership perspective on debt talks – “success…won the battle” – and the Greek voters – “It looks to me that nothing has changed” – grows ever wider, and on the heels of apparent near mutiny last week, there is growing division in the ranks of the newly elected party. Syriza MEP Manolis Glezos penned a stunning rebuke of the party’s apparent U-turn and asks his electorate for forgiveness… “there can be no compromise between oppressor and oppressed… Pity, and pity again… I apologize to the Greek people because I have contributed to this illusion… before it is too late, let us react!” 

In an article uploaded on the website of his Movement for Active Citizens, Keep Talking Greece notes Manolis Glezos – the historic member of the Greek left (best known for his participation in the World War II resistance) – expresses his deep disappointment about the way Syriza handles with the negotiations and calls for party members to decide if they accept this situation.

Read moreGreek Infighting Begins After Historic Syriza Member Slams Agreement, Apologizes For “Contributing To Illusion” Of Change