tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post6101113675661343987..comments2023-07-17T11:55:51.363+02:00Comments on ObservingGreece: Mr. Papandreou - a Mrs. Thatcher or "the son of the father"?kleinguthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-11239895919677421462013-12-01T20:17:42.756+01:002013-12-01T20:17:42.756+01:00You got something wrong, here. I was talking about...You got something wrong, here. I was talking about George Papandreou. I have no doubt that his father would have negotiated much better for Greece (as he had done before on several occasions).kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-16370686125978780302013-12-01T18:57:07.390+01:002013-12-01T18:57:07.390+01:00The only thing this event exposes (Sarkozy losing ...The only thing this event exposes (Sarkozy losing his cool) was the bankrupt position of the french and german banks.<br /><br />As for opposing Thatcher and Andreas Papandreaou, please do your homework. BOTH were tough negotiators and AP could reasonably considered the tougher, on top of being a geo-strategic highwire artist. After all Greece does not have the modern historical clout that Great Britain enjoys.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-38215251210166656542011-11-06T23:30:51.697+01:002011-11-06T23:30:51.697+01:00After Cannes...
What a missed opportunity for Mr....After Cannes...<br /><br />What a missed opportunity for Mr. Papandreou! At least we know that he is not a Mrs. Thatcher.<br /><br />According to media reports (official confirmation is not available), Merkozy gave Mr. Papandreou sort of an ultimatum: fulfill the October-Agreement or else be prepared to leave the Eurozone!<br /><br />What an empty bluff! Mr. Papandreou should have expressed severe concern about such a posture instead of caving in. He might have said something like the following in a very polite way:<br /><br />"Before you take rash actions, please remember that Greece owns 1,9649% of the ECB. The same day that you allow Greece to run out of cash, the ECB will have to close its doors (or get immediately massive capital infusions from its owners). The ECB holds more than 150 billion EUR in Greek assets which compares to a capital & reserves of the ECB of approxiamtely 10 billion EUR. If the ECB had to write-down only 10% of the value of its Greeks assets, that capital & reserves would be wiped out. If it had to write-down 50% of its Greek assets (the same proportion which is being requested from private lenders), the ECB would require an immediate capital infusion of over 60 billion EUR.<br /><br />Incidentally, Greece is not in a position to inject new capital into the ECB.<br /><br />Thank you for your attention!"kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-30983442435483350252011-11-03T08:42:06.523+01:002011-11-03T08:42:06.523+01:00Well, after reading the headlines, it certainly do...Well, after reading the headlines, it certainly doesn't look like Papandreou behaved Thatcher-like last evening. <br /><br />Sarkozy and Merkel, on the other hand, behaved very French and German. "You better respect the rules or else...". Which rules Greece is expected to respect was not clarified. Probably the October Agreement was meant which they now fear Greece might wish to renegotiate shortly after the ink has dried. Well, the EU renegotiated with the banks their volunatary participation shortly after the ink on the July 21 Agreement had dried (and they did that with very good reason!).<br /><br />"If Greece does not comply with the October Agreement, she will have to leave the Eurozone". Really? If Greece rejects this agreement, she will first of all go into default and run out of money to pay salaries, pensions, etc. Is it illegal within the Eurozone to go bankrupt? What if Greece doesn't want to leave the Eurozone? The US government would probably have preferred that Lehman's move to Iceland before its bankruptcy but that was not possible, either.<br /><br />So tune down the rhetoric. The simple fact is that the Greek government needs a few more "cherries" from the EU in order to sell this deal domestically. If they are cherries which do some good for Greece, why not give them?kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-69003801868668509812011-11-03T07:30:09.003+01:002011-11-03T07:30:09.003+01:00There is no such issue. Papandreou is just an oppo...There is no such issue. Papandreou is just an opposite, a genuine populist, archetype of Thatcher. He has left the country at the mercy of illiterate trade unionists which, in fact, he has created through his party policies throughout the last 30 years. He has built a soviet, client based, society, corrupt, incompetent, phobic, autistic, arrogant.<br /><br />He also consistently cheats both the Greek people as well as the EU leaders. Never before have “sheer lies” been the central, the pivotal political tool.<br /><br />These are facts Klaus. I fear your question is groundless, rhetoric.<br /><br />I personally feel deeply ashamed, especially against countries like Slovakia the the financing Greek parties.Nikos D. Sakkashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05160603529458083364noreply@blogger.com