Thursday, July 16, 2015

Two Interesting Finds On Twitter

No. 1
Mordorandum1: 172 députés pour
Mordorandum2: 199 députés pour
Mordorandum3 : 228 députés pour


No. 2
"In 1997, Arnulf Baring (of the German-British family of Baring bankers) unleashed the following 'Nostradamus'-like prediction of how the euro would end (from a German perspective)...
"They will be subsidizing scroungers, lounging in cafes on the Mediterranean beaches.

Monetary union, in the end, will result in a gigantic blackmailing operation.

When we Germans demand monetray discipline, other countries will blame their financial woes on that same discipline, and by extension, on us. More they will perceive us as a kind of economic policeman.

We risk once again becoming the most hated people in Europe."
It appears that Arnulf pretty much 'nailed it'."

21 comments:

  1. Personally Mr. Kastner,

    I have no hatred for Germans on the whole. I dislike Mr. Schauble but not so much as to call it hatred. And his outcome (Arnulf Baring) does not need to be as stated. There also bunches of Greek Prophecers as well. But when people sit down and discuss logically, things change.

    I read many disheartening comments yesterday on your blog. Basically to the stance of more money thrown away.

    I do not understand this view and why people do not look into the details of a problem and rather generalize. Here on this blog i have learned alot which has opened doors of understanding into many aspects which allowed me to have the curiousity to study or seek more information. Many Greeks have seen these realizations as well.

    As this deal is being passed i see more and more the sustance in your proposals. Indeed there are two issues micro and macro economics. Germans still maintain that we will be sustainable if we follow the strict rules. I do not believe this at all but i do agree with you 100% that the problems are not so much the debt refinancing or long term haircut but the micro economics, which allows growth later. Coupled with debt restructuring greec can be healthy and prosperous.

    Good but slow work has been done. The 2 first deals where not complete failures. they do contribute to change. At worst it contributed to the open sense of the greek people that we haven't accept enough changes necessary. There is more to do. We are final onto the realization of this. I believe a great majority in greeece needed to see the abyss to understand this. Even Tsipras. I as well disagree with many points of the agreement as well but it does not mean it can not be implemented.

    continued....


    ReplyDelete
  2. continued....

    (For example) I do not believe the ship owners should have increased taxes. What i would propose would be an even more or slightly reduced taxes as so that they bring all their ships flags to greece. As a percentage their tax would be reduced but as a number it would be an increased contribution to the to total GDP and tax revenue. Plus it would create more jobs. And maybe it could get our ship repair ports back on the map which are current idle.

    You are also right that there is no national plan which has been presented to Schauble. I dislike him but he is right. There is no realistic plan which can convince him that the their plan is worse. How can you judge their (troika) plan is bad, when you do not have a plan of your own?

    So we have their plan. Which is the only plan. As so it is done right this time, which it will work, troika will set up camp in Athens on a formal basis come the agreement in Septmeber. No more every 2 months evaluations. They will be here to ensure things are enforced. I welcome them but the should pick the people profiles carefully of who is here in Athens. If they bring Thompson of the IMF it will be a disaster.

    When they do come i will go seek them out to submit my ideas if they will take them.

    I believe in Tsipras. There is something there. He moves foward while learning. we will pay for his mistakes as well as the European tax payers as well. But at least he is dynamic in understanding. My biggest concern is that when election do come very soon, i do not want Tsipras to be alone. A strong base vote of the 1st two or 3 parties must back this plan. Good or bad plan. As it is the only plan. Have the troika, hang out that carrot to the greeks for debt restructing sometime in 2017 or 2018 and pass this new legislation. You know my views of what is priority.

    Just bringing this calm things will stablize in Greece.

    On a personal note. In my work i collabrate with many german firms. They may be expensive but i have proven to my peers that the end result it is worth it as projects development, timing and end costs with this knowledge produces savings for the company. Then i transfer the knowledge locally. Accepting higher knowledge and paying for it is effcient. Greece should take it that way on a national level.

    And Schauble is wrong. A "time out" for greece to recuporate would be a disaster. We would never become a competitive economy without restructuring our governement without our German Friends. Unless he wants us out permanently.

    Sincerely,
    V

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To V,

      My dear friend, first, i think that the only chance Tsipras has, is to realize that such a plan with so unwilling ministers, will have the end of George Papandreou, even if Tsipras is lucky enough of not having SYRIZA's populism against him every day.
      Second, Tsipras' national plan, was Thessaloniki program. You can't have national program and troika program at the same time. The troika must approve every time Tsipras wants to sneeze. This drama we watched in the last period, was Tsipras' struggle to keep something from his own plan. Of course, when your plan is off by 20 bn and you ask for troika money, you end up with troika program.

      I would be surprised if Tsipras manages to arrive to 2018. But 2018 will be the end of the line. Primary surplus 3.5% by 2018. Do you really think Tsipras can do that? Do you really think that the population will buy into yet another "these cuts will be the last ones, come on, one more time?".

      I don't want to demoralize you, but, in greek politics, the better the orator, the worse in managing economy. Wonderful soundbites unfortunately don't produce wonderful money. If they did, Andreas Papandreou would have transformed Greece in a gold mine. Looking at Tsipras' cabinet, who are the people that will take the political cost and unpopular measures? The statalists? The ones who escaped from PASOK because they didn't have the stomach to vote unpopular measures? The quasi-comunists that today say that voting "YES" was the biggest shame of their life?

      Unless something unpredictable happens, by end 2017, the next elections will be "with which party do you want to go the drachma". Or at least, i hope it will. Because i don't want to think that the people will trust forces as SYRIZA, KKE or Godlen Dawn, to handle the situation. They may get more than their bargained for.

      Tsipras bought time. For what exactly, only he knows. I don't know if he really illudes himself that his cabinet can carry this out successfully or he has a political plan in mind that we don't know of. The most clever thing to do in his place, is get into national unity goverment, put many Papademos as ministers and let them handle the dirty job. It's the only chance. The Papedemos ministers are bad in speaking, just like Papademos was beyond boredom to watch, but are good in doing a job assigned, just like Papademos did the job assigned to him.

      Delete
    2. To V,

      You may also want to read this:

      http://www.capital.gr/oikonomia/3044913/timoritiko-astathes-kai-ripsokinduno-xaraktirizoun-to-neo-elliniko-programma-4-oikonomologoi

      Delete
    3. To My Friend AnonymousJuly 16, 2015 at 5:41 PM,

      Thessaloniki plan is already dead and if any knowledgable greek believed in it then they are completely retarded. We all know politics have alot of lies. Tsipras and Syriza at Thessaloniki said 20 lies. This under the pretense of ask for more and we will get something. Just like troika ask for tons of measures and gets what they want.

      The greek strategy failed horribly. Tsipras has come to the realization although ideologically, he is a left knows that he must work with the system by their rules. I believe the 120 who voted this understand this. ND knows it alreayd and Old Pasok as well. Potami as well. All the other extremists are in fantacy land. Litterally. Especially the KKE. Failed idea and proven failure and they want a communistic state. I love their ideas but they are completely impractical. Incedentally, I saw Koutsoubas complete speech. Everything he said was 100% right. At the end i screamed at the top of my lungs "WHAT IS YOUR DETAILED PLAN! GIVE AN OPTION **&(***&^&"

      As for Golden Dawn, which has a resembling face of Junta. Junta was a failure as a social system, but Junta did do many thing development projects during their period. Junta was (from my little knowledge) was overthrown by the west. Is it by coincidence that Junta successfully created its own oil extraction "Prinos," only a few months before the Turkish invasion in Cyprus? This is a different discussion though.
      BTW, did you know Tsipras's uncle's construction company was continuously selected for government jobs?

      As i had originally posted, tsipras needs to team up with Potami. Actually if Tsipras (without the degenerate lefts) forms his own party or excludes the degenerates, hopefully in my opinion must not get more than 30%. It must be high enough to give Tsipras the PM position, but force him to form a coalition. Only with coalition with Potami and another party can we get the deal done. And why? Because within the coalition you have the advantage of placing specific PM's into minsteries who will get the job done. The larger the coalition the better, just like Germany.

      Meanwhile, everybody overlooks that fact that TROIKA WILL BE HERE. Septmeber! They (TROIKA) will not fail for a 3rd time. They want it completely enforced. And it will be done so. However harsh the program will be, it will be enforced.

      My friend however tired you feel now, wait till we speak in 1 year from now. The citizens of greece will be completely demoralized. If the prgram fails it will not be because of economics but because we will be depressed zombies. But we have no choice. Right? Did we individually do our part in the good and bad years? The USA has a great saying. "What comes around goes around." If we want to get out of this mess it is up to us all individually. Yesterday i got in a fight with a shop owner who told me 15 euro for something and i asked for a receipt. He told me 20 euros. I was furious. He told me you have spare 5 euro? I told him no i do not but my country needs that 5 euro.

      We have lost our own Filotimo and our conscience for our own well being. As of late I have being thinking of the great JFK. "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." and to my Germans "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, then it cannot save the few who are rich."

      The plan is bad. We had none of our own. None of our governments did. And to be honest i have read the plan and it is not as bad as people say. Ok harsh but it is not that bad. Tsipras Plan based on Junker + new stuff. It is tough in the short term. But in the long term it will all be worth it. It will be hard on all of us.
      continued....

      Delete
    4. conitnued....

      To AnonymousJuly 16, 2015 at 6:05 PM

      Yes ok. Do they have any suggestions or is another bunch of Varoufakis's and Glivanous people blurting out shit. The only decent plans i have heard or ideas are on this blog spot. realistic ideas for real economies.

      To Both,

      Tsipras is the only decent leader we have. And his speeches give hope even if they express painful measures to come. And papandreou has no such oratory skills. he could barely speak greek for that matter. To be honest he is a combinations of two things. A complete idiot and Traitor.

      Varoufakis is very smart with very smart ideas. But he is so arrogant and so cunningly linguistic that he can't be trusted. Calculated (Meletimenos). You can only take ideas from him and visualizations of problems. Varoufakis may be what he is but he is smart. In the end he is an egotistical pig working for his own agenda. He is not thinking socially. Another super rich with communistic ideas. He has the luxury to sit on his ass and read marx and lenin eat fougra and he is preaching how society should be. No he can't.

      If you are both greek and live in Greece writing on this blog (which is a source of inspiration) and have abondonded hope
      then we are doomed. All my collegues call me a romantic and i simply reply to them that we must all make our contribution.

      On a personal note. I work in the private sector but i do maintain a side income from rent. This year that rent bumped me into a new tax bracket. I could easily not declare that income and pay out 1000 euro less. I won;t lie. I seriously though about it. Like a greek who thinks this money goes to the bad german's banks or a corrput government (in the past). Well i concluded that yes in part some does go to bankers, but most goes to my senoir peoples pensions, alot goes to pay public worker salries (some of how do not work properly) but most of all it goes to my compatriates children. I decided this when i looked into the eyes of my baby son. I would not be stealing from german bankers but from my own child future. When that is into the mindset of greeks we will succeed.

      Sicnerely,
      V

      Delete
    5. For Greece you have to get a major turn around and you have to use the leaders you have, especially Tsipras.
      The actual reminds me a bit to the time of Germany in 1998/1999.
      In 1998 the first time in German history a pure (moderate) left majority won the elections, Social Democrats and Greens.
      The chancelor was Gerhard Schröder, the Finance minister (and Leader of the SPD) was Oskar Lafontaine.
      You can compare Lafontaine in many parts with Varoufakis. He has very good rhetoric skills, he is very intelligent and in his way charismatic, and he was a very good opposition leader. Really good in arguing against projects, why they are unjust, require more money and so on.
      As finance minister and party leader he was mainly promoting bigger spending and the reset of laws from the last, conservative government.
      In this time, Germany was in serious economic trouble, it was called "the sick man of Euro" (like here http://www.economist.com/node/209559).
      With time even many in the government realized that the idea increasing competitiveness of economy by continuosly boosting state spendings had serious flaws. Many but not Lafontaine.
      The situation escalated and in one night he resigned as finance minister and as leader of SPD and was not seen for quite some time. His behaviour was seen by many, me inclusive, as a cowardly flight of resonsibility.
      The government started the biggest reform program, with some socially quite hard components (it damaged the SPD until these days), but it worked quite soon. The mood started to change, and few years later Germany the "sick man of the Euro" was forgotten, as Germany got a kind of Europes power house, now feared to be to strong for some other Euro countries.

      Lafontaine got one of the loudest critics of the government, first in a regularly column in BILD (you know, the biggest tabloid here), later he got the leader of the "Linkspartei", the very left "sister party" of Syriza.

      I already expect that Varoufakis will be a copy of Lafontaine, earning much money by selling books and columns where he declares that everything the government will do is bad.

      But I really wish Tsipras can get a kind of "Schröder of Greece", laying the base for a solid and deep change and rebuild of the country, so it can will soon regrow as one of the new Tigers of Europe.

      Unimagianble? Hmm. Who expected in 1999 that the "sick man of Europe" could show that recovery quite soon later?

      (No doubt, the power of Germany is only a relative one, more like "last man standing". And the reforms did really hurt and partially still do. But there was simply no chance that our neighbors might bail us out, so we had to go for it.)

      Delete
    6. Το V,

      Both posts were mine. First, no i don't live in Greece. I have lived most of my life outside Greece. Maybe this is why i don't believe in beautiful words. I also don't like the way Tsipras speaks greek. It sounds phony to me. Many Greeks did believe the Thessaloniki program. They also believed that Tsipras would go guns blazing and the others would capitulate, just like Andreas did with the Sismik crisis. The troika wins every time, for the same reason that Americans win every time they go on some oil-infested country to bring democracy. The imbalance of power. Something Andreas knew, Tsipras didn't. The country will now pay the price with 7% recession and debt over 200%. I haven't heard Koutsoumbas, but what more do you need? It's good old comunism. Self-explanatory.
      The junta did make most of the "old national" roads, all national socialists do that. It's part of the building popular consensur process, since you don't come to power with popular consensus in the first place and so you must somehow incentivate it afterwards. The excuse for taking your freedom in exchange. You exchange freedom and fear with roads.You could leave your wallet in Omonoia square, return after 5 hours and the wallet would still be there. You could buy the Vima newspaper ,but just to be safe, it was prudent to immediately hide it and buy it from someone you could trust. Even more democratically, the junta did 2 referenda, which technically, were more honest than the one made by SYRIZA. And won both by a landslide! Again, because the fear was enough to make you vote what they wanted. Many voters would only ask for the "yes" leaflet (there were different for Yes and No), as to declare their loyalty. Others would not bother go behind the curtain, again to show that they vote in favour of the regime. Because someone who would do otherwise, would risk raising the interest of the police.
      The Prinos oil field is minuscule and irrelevant to the junta's fall. The Ioannidis junta fell only because of the Cyprus invasion, where the Americans cheated him, because he was a fool that trusted them. I would suggest you to read: "Κύπρος Απόρρητος Φάκελλος- Αθανάσιος Στριγάς", "Το Τέλος της Σιωπής - Ναύαρχος Αραπάκης". Arapakis was the Chief of Navy during the Cyprus invasion and his testimony is quite clear on the matter. Ioannides was yelling in his office "they cheated me! They cheated me" (the Americans). It explains why he didn't order greek forces to react, why he was saying that this is a drill, etc. Kissinger played him. Nobody but his stupidity made him fall and it was certainly not Prinos's fault. Ioannides was as friendly a leader the Americans could get. This you may also find of interest:
      http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Greece_KH.html

      To be continued

      Delete
    7. Continues...

      All dictatorial regimes, at some point are paid by the people with high price. In Greece, it was Cyprus. In Italy, Mussolini filled the country with characteristic buildings that stand to this day. The particular architectonic style is called "rationalism". This is in particular from his native region:
      http://www.artefascista.it/forl%C3%AC__fascismo__archit.htm
      The Italians later paid a price for those buildings too. As time passes, the memories of the fear and price paid fade away, while the buildings and roads still remain. And so it starts again...
      Potami may have some MPs that are professors and with technocrat background, but suffers the same problem with SYRIZA. Lack of cohesion and experience. The other problem is having them coexist in the same goverment. The troika never fails. Greece fails to implement the troika plan. Don't forget that. I still can't see which SYRIZA ministers can carry out the plan. Unless you put all Potami ministers to the crucial ministries, but then again, would SYRIZA accept that?
      On Papandreou, i meant Andreas, not George. George won by virtue of the name, he didn't have to speak. I have my doubts about Tsipras being the only decent leader. What decent did he bring? The disaster in the economy? Why is George Papandreou a traitor? Because he didn't have a Varoufakis to make a world show out of his "troika coup"? From Tsipras, after all this blunder, i would have expected to go to television and at least apologize to the people. For the lies, for the referendum parody, for the false hope that turned into recession. Instead he has the audacity to smile and say "our measures are socially just". I 've never heard anyone before, much less of a man of the left, claim that indirect taxes are socially just or horizontal reductions in all pensions.
      I have always believed that populism is the main problem of greek politics. As long as the voters, keep believing the one who promices that there is money, it is of no use to search for saviors. If you prefer nice speeches and 7% recession, than bad speeches and growth, it is something i will never understand. If Tsipras was so decent, maybe people would have voted for him before the crisis too. What can i say, i hope you are right and i am wrong...

      Delete
    8. Last part...

      "If you are both greek and live in Greece writing on this blog (which is a source of inspiration) and have abondonded hope
      then we are doomed. All my collegues call me a romantic and i simply reply to them that we must all make our contribution."

      My dear V, i don't like hope vendors. I don't like populists, because i 've seen what damage Andreas Papandreou did to Greece. With Tsipras, Greece is expected to have recession 5% for 2015, 2% in 2016. I am sorry, but i see no hope in that. He brought Greece back to 3 years ago. I can't call him decent. If i had done that, after 5 years of promices and urging the people to revolt against austerity and calling the others traitors, i would have resigned.

      My personal choice as i said, would be national unity goverment with technocrats. SYRIZA ministers in crucial ministries, will fail, because there are no suicide ministers in SYRIZA. If i had another choice, i would vote someone who actually wants to implement the memorandum. And here the logical choice would be a combination of Tzimeros, the liberals inside New Democracy and the ones inside Potami. Even New Democracy alone, if she didn't have to suffer the daily attack and populism of SYRIZA, would be a beter choice. Time will tell... The only thing Tsipras has working for him, is the Juncker package, that his predecessors didn't have. But at the same time, his own populism has and will continue to turn and bite him.

      Delete
  3. Here is someone else who nailed it, even before!

    "If I were a German today, I would be proud, proud but also worried. I would be proud of the magnificent achievement of rebuilding my country, entrenching democracy and assuming the undoubtedly preponderant position in Europe. But a united Germany can't and won't subordinate its national interests in economic or in foreign policy to those of the Community indefinitely. Germany's new pre-eminence is a fact - and its power is a problem - as much for Germans as for the rest of Europe."

    Thatcher 15-5-1992

    “Since the unification of Germany under Bismarck,” she wrote, “Germany has veered unpredictably between aggression and self-doubt.”

    “Germany is more rather than less likely to dominate within that framework,” she explained, “for a reunited Germany is simply too big and powerful to be just another player with Europe.”
    https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/6588.24.119.0/britain/britains-iron-lady-was-right

    Why did France and Italy side with little Greece, instead with the fellow creditor Germany in the last summit? Because they wanted to curtail Germany's political power. Both sides have made it clear in subtle statements.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Klaus: Although Germany nourished many enemies, I am flabbergasted that you bring up that subject by these examples.

    Imho anyone who intends to discuss that delicate subject has the full obligation to present it more thoroughly or to let it be.

    H.Trickler

    PS: It would be much more interesting to discuss why Merkel followed French and Italy and not the suggestion of Schäuble. I think that it is kind of a tragedy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes Klaus, he pretty much did. But i think you would have chosen another timing if you had been on the streets of Athens yesterday. I'm happy the Schauble suggestion is getting traction and that he has not given it up, but I'm afraid it's too late. That leaves us with another 3 years like yesterday evening. The various parties to the coming Greek governments will fan the fires, covert and overt, and claim that it is not possible to balance their budgets. If that is not enough to paralyze the economy then the frequent elections will, as they have always done.
    Lennard

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really liked the argument heard yesterday that Greeks want prove Schäuble to be wrong with his Grexit-proposal and that it ignites them to successfully rebuild Greece inside Eurozone. ;-)

      Delete
  6. To the second Tweet of Arnulf Baring: I know many fellow Germans now saying: "It has happened exactly just as I expected".
    But I would answer to Baring: "Your anxiety toward unions is perhaps a sign of the british part of your culture."
    For my German fellows I had a longer answer. I would remind that every new way has a good chance of failure, but not even trying is total failure. And I remind them to the successful tradition that we have in Germany with political unions.
    Around 1750 there were around 300 states in Germany, many of them small like typical independent greek polis in antic times.
    Around 1850 we had 34 different German states.
    Around 1950 we had 4 states with German speakers, (Eastern and Western Germany, Austria and Switzerland), today just 3.
    A reduction by factor 10 each 100 years.

    The biggest of the former states, Prussia, totally dissoluted in the new Germany to make it working. Today one still can proud states like Bavaria, Saxonia or Thuringia, but Prussia anymore. The union works so good that no region plans to disintegrate, but that the majority of Germans is still willing to go for the next union, the European Union.
    (You know, to continue with factor 10 one has to take the next floor. :-))
    I would not wonder if Germany anytime will also kind of dissolute inside Europe like Prussia did inside Germany, to make it work.
    To sum it up: Germany has a successful historc experience with political unions.

    Sadly, the United Kingdom has a contrary history.
    Around 1750 they had lots of colonies in the whole world, big and rich. They lost nearly all of them.
    The had a shining british commonwealth. But the connections are loosening ever more.
    They had all of the British Islands. But Ireland already left in anger, and Scotland seriously thinks about it.
    Great Britain has gone quite small today. Their experiences with political unions are indeed disheartening. I understand very well that many Brits lacked the courage for an experiment like the EuroZone and distrust the European Union.

    I still dont know if Greece will be able to stay inside the EuroZone. I would be glad but I really don't know it. But I am again optimistical that the EuroZone can repair its flaws. Perhaps these years with EuroZone deep in fire were indispensable to understand how it works - and learn to understand its breaking points, the risks of collapse by excessive demands.
    But it worked longer than most of its critics predicted. And I am still wondered if a higher share of Greeks will vote next time for remaining in EuroZone than Scots voted for remaining in the United Kingdom, while Greeks are in a deep trouble.

    I recommend to read this WSJ-article: "Greek Crisis Tests Eurozone’s Durability" http://www.wsj.com/articles/greek-crisis-tests-eurozones-durability-1436992536 (google for the title)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These widespread US publications, together with top actors of the Nobel category, make up the perfect soap opera. Imho not worth an second watching.

      H.Trickler

      Delete
  7. Interesting interview with Tusk about the negotiations at Financial Times
    They were quite close to break:
    In the [summit] negotiations, it was just one time when I felt the risk is really close, really possible or probable. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning, when both of them – Chancellor [Merkel] and Prime Minister Tsipras – they wanted a pause.

    For me, it was absolutely clear this was the end of the negotiation. In fact, they wanted to stop this summit, but they were not ready to say ‘this is the end’, and it was an excuse. But it was very spontaneous. It’s also why it was so dangerous, because it was an authentic reaction, fatigue, also irritation. Both of them were absolutely sure they compromised too much.

    It was a really interesting moment, because the difference at this very moment was so small. At this moment it was about €2.5bn. In the end, the discussion was about how much money – virtual money – from this privatisation fund would go to investment and how much to debt. The position of the chancellor was €10bn for investment, and for Tsipras it was €15bn. And the proposal was €12.5bn for investment. For both of them, it was about €2.5bn. At the same moment, they felt it was enough.

    I told them, ‘If you stop this negotiation, I’m ready to say publicly: Europe is close to catastrophe because of €2.5bn.’"
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Who was the hardest cake?:
    Q: Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, was brought in by Tusk during one of the small group sessions, and one interviewer asked why he had taken the unusual decision to include the Dutchman in meetings that had previously the exclusive realm of Merkel, Hollande, Tsipras and the Greek finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos.

    A: At about 11 o’clock, it was clear that Germany was not the toughest country. Maybe not Germany, but for sure Chancellor Merkel was ready to compromise and some countries were afraid this compromise might be unacceptable to them or their parliaments. Everything was informal.

    I received a signal that for a group of five member states: Rutte would be the best representative. I was naïve, of course, because I thought at midnight we would be ready with the compromise. I knew that I should be 100 per cent sure it was not only a compromise between Greece and Germany. I wanted to avoid this trap that some countries might ignore or oppose this possible compromise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To Roger,

      The compromise on the german side, is that they didn't make Tsipras sign inside a train's wagon. Ahahaha!

      Delete
    2. ....failed agreements usually fail for the last cents....

      Sincerely,
      V

      Delete
    3. To compromise on the German side was to pay against tens of billions while
      - the maastricht treatments about euro-zone declared there will be no bail outs.
      - there are quite serious doubts this money will change the situation in the long run.

      If you think paying 80 billions from all Euro-partners together and around 15-20 billions from Germany alone is not a huge compromise I dont know what you would call a compromise.

      I am sorry but that kind of bigotry angers me.

      I think the conditions are too hard partially as they seriously limit democracy in Greece and it lacks the perspective for Greece. And I really dislike some dismissive and even rassistic comments from Germany (V used the pleasant picture of the "barking shepherd" for it).

      But calling Germany uncompromising is impertinent.

      Delete
  8. Here is a new vignette from a famous greek cartoonist. It explains why SYRIZA didn't have a "Plan B" ready:

    http://s14.postimg.org/54s3jp2nl/image.png

    "Plan, you fool! Plan! Not Plant!"

    ReplyDelete