Thread: Greek PM concedes election defeat

Let me add to the fun here - quoted from BBC:

The country's economic crisis was caused in large part because its government had taken on excessive debts.

So at the time the crisis began in earnest, at the end of 2009, its debts as a share of GDP were 127% of GDP or national income - and rose the following year to 146% of GDP.

As a condition of the official rescues, significant public spending cuts and austerity were imposed on Greece. And that had quite an impact on economic activity.

The country was already in recession following the 2008 financial crisis. But since 2010, and thanks in large part to austerity imposed by Brussels, GDP has shrunk a further 19%.

GDP per head, perhaps a better measure of the hardship imposed on Greeks, has fallen 22% since the onset of the 2008 debacle.

So austerity has certainly hurt. But has it worked to get Greece's debts down?

To the contrary, Greek debt as a share of GDP has soared to 176% of GDP, as of the end of September 2014.

Now it has fallen a bit in absolute terms. Greek public sector debt was 265bn euros in 2008, 330bn euros in 2010 and was 316bn in September of last year.

But it is debt as a share of GDP or national income which determines affordability. And on that important measure, Greece's debt problem is worse today than it was when it was rescued.

To state the obvious, it is the collapse in the economy which has done the damage. And although Greece started to grow again last year, at the current annual growth rate of 1.6% (which may not be sustained) it would take longer than a generation to reduce national debt to a manageable level.

So that is what the Troika achieved by "saving" the Greek.

The far left has made an alliance with the far right to have the balance of power.

Socialist and nationalist, sound familiar?

Greece will not default on bailout debts - PM Tsipras

New Greek PM Alexis Tsipras says his country will not default on its debts.

Addressing his first cabinet meeting since Sunday's victory, Mr Tsipras said he would negotiate with creditors over the €240bn (£179bn; $270bn) bailout.

"We won't get into a mutually destructive clash, but we will not continue a policy of subjection," said the left-wing Syriza party leader.

The EU has warned his government to stick to its commitments. A default could force Greece out of the euro

As the newly elected leader of the radical left party made his inaugural cabinet speech, Greek government bond yields rose to near record levels - reflecting investors' concerns about short-term risks of a debt restructuring over the coming months. The Greek stock market fell 6.4%.

Greece has endured tough budget cuts in return for its 2010 bailout, negotiated with the so-called troika - the European Union, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB).

The economy has shrunk drastically since the 2008 global financial crisis, and increasing unemployment has thrown many Greeks into poverty.

BBC News - Greece will not default on bailout debts - PM Tsipras

Why are they so worried about being kicked out of the Euro or more to the point why don't they just leave it. Tell their creditors to fuk off and get the Drachma back which will be worth fuk all but whatever Greece makes and produces will therefor be cheap as chips to export and tourism will explode as it will be dirt cheap to holiday there and the economy will improve.

Buriramboy - economic genius.

Originally Posted by Neo

The elite don't like the results of elections that don't suit their ends and will do all they can to undermine what has happened in Greece. If Greece is given a free reign to socialise their economy and things really do start to improve for them it would run contrary to the grip of economic control that we live under. I expect the wheels of subversion are already turning to reverse this victory.

That should be almost guaranteed.
The powers to be don't care for the other games.

Interesting to note that such situations are so universal the world over.
The continuing cycle of repression, control, and resistance.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Interesting to note that such situations are so universal the world over.
The continuing cycle of repression, control, and resistance.

Definite parallels with South American countries, only now with an EU member it is news.

The experiment has failed yet again.. how much longer can they keep flogging the dead horse.?

Update to above.

Greek PM Tsipras names anti-austerity cabinet, port sale halted | Reuters



"(Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras named a cabinet of anti-austerity veterans and halted privatization of Greece's biggest port on Tuesday, signaling he aims to stick to election pledges despite warning shots from the euro zone and financial markets.


One of the first decisions announced by the new government was stopping the planned sale of a 67 percent stake in the Piraeus Port Authority (OLPr.AT), agreed under its international bailout deal for which China's Cosco Group COSCO.UL and four other suitors had been shortlisted.


"The Cosco deal will be reviewed to the benefit of the Greek people," Thodoris Dritsas, the deputy minister in charge of the shipping portfolio, told Reuters.
Syriza had announced before the election it would halt the sale of state assets, a plank of the 240 billion-euro bailout agreement. Stakes in the port of Thessaloniki (OLTr.AT), the country's second biggest, along with railway operator Trainose and rolling stock operator ROSCO are also slated to be sold."




He must have some Chinese blood in his family!

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Repayment of the remaining debt tied to economic growth

Just like a student loan then.

Would think that if part of the bail out was privatization of government assets and this has been stopped, bail out is now over.
Balls in the EU and banks court now, they can do as the Greeks tell them, or lose the lot bankrupting and throwing them out of the Euro.
Going to be a hard one, give them what they want, then other countries will demand the same deal. Cut them loose and hope the country totally collapses, if it doesn't everyone will want out, as in voters, not the rulers.
In some ways this is a revolution without guns.

Originally Posted by jamescollister

if part of the bail out was privatization of government assets

This is just total corruption on a massive scale where the private sector is using federal government (in this case the EU) to force a sovereign government to sell off public assets to the private sector. I hate this kind of massive crony capitalism; it tells you all you need to know about the motivation of the people making this deal - such folks should be in jail...

Originally Posted by Necron99

EU reaping what it has sown.
They should never have let all these 2nd world fiscal basket cases join in the first place.

When was the last time you picked up something that wasn't an olive and it said "Made in Greece"

Big Fat Weddings, feta cheese, anal sex, and hairy women.?

Their once famous philosophers are a bit thin on the ground now though.

Originally Posted by kmart

Big Fat Weddings, feta cheese, anal sex, and hairy women.? Their once famous philosophers are a bit thin on the ground now though

I think the philosophers were binned as part of EU Membership.Hairy cheese and anal weddings are ok cos they get in as minorities, just like EU accountants.

Most of those philosophers ended up arrested, exiled or executed back in the day.
No one likes a smartarse....

Socrates left to play for Brazil.

Lets hope the relevant banks who are owed money can accept the write-off gracefully. It is only 1 or 2 days free money supplied by their central bank after all.

I would like to see the Greeks say to the EU: fuk off! They could continue: get your money from the criminals who stole it, by the way, they are your banking friends...

It's quite simple really: the bankers and other cronies stole the money. It's very similar to the UK, the banks fuked up, their greed and stupidity stole money from pensions and mortgages until their was an economic collapse. At that point, the tax payer stepped in to solve the bank's problems - turned out that the banks went unpunished and continue to steal more money at record rates while the tax payer keeps being penalized. Quite simple really... UK/Greece, same same. It's the standard federal US and EU crony (politicians and bankers hand in hand) policy. Throw in a few wars as distraction, and that's the plan...

I hope the Greeks have the balls to stand up to it, as nobody else has.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Lets hope the relevant banks who are owed money can accept the write-off gracefully. It is only 1 or 2 days free money supplied by their central bank after all.

They create the money on a computer screen, give it to themselves in various ways, then use that to destroy a country and grab anything and everything they can get their mitts on. I reckon it was a dry run to see if they would get away with it before doing it in the rest of Europe.

^ and ^^

And then they call it "the troika has saved you" - just quoting Mr Dijsselbloem's (President of the Eurogroup of Finance Ministers) words here.
That guy is a Dutch socialist - can't believe these idiots are defending neo-liberal policies

^, ^^, ^^^

If you three are on the Teakdoor loan committee I have a very attractive financial proposal you may wish to consider.

^
Us three... as in troika?