Greece's Left-Wing: Biting The Hand That Feeds It

Swagger

Gold Member
Jul 26, 2011
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Up on the scaffold
Absolutely disgusting show of events. I don't know how Chancellor Merkel contained herself. If I were in her shoes, I would've got straight back on the plane, turned around and shouted: 'f*ck yourselves, you ungrateful w*nkers.'

Both sides just need to realise that there is no way the Greeks will ever have the same work ethic as the Germans, so they could never be considered as equals in the EU partnership. Strange that someone could have ever thought otherwise.

Angela Merkel's Visit to Greece: What The Papers Say - Telegraph
 
Absolutely disgusting show of events. I don't know how Chancellor Merkel contained herself. If I were in her shoes, I would've got straight back on the plane, turned around and shouted: 'f*ck yourselves, you ungrateful w*nkers.'

Both sides just need to realise that there is no way the Greeks will ever have the same work ethic as the Germans, so they could never be considered as equals in the EU partnership. Strange that someone could have ever thought otherwise.

Angela Merkel's Visit to Greece: What The Papers Say - Telegraph

"The hand" of global financial mafia does not "feed" anyone apart from global financial mafia and pocket politicos.

If Greeks had enough, good for them.
 
Greece needs a real bankruptcy where debt and labor get restructured, the "austerity" is just more chain length in their financial slavery
 
Greece needs a real bankruptcy where debt and labor get restructured, the "austerity" is just more chain length in their financial slavery

I agree. The Eurozone and all its ensuing obligations (from both the creditors and debtors' position/circumstances) has evolved into more of a hostage situation than a common market. Though I suspect that that was their intent all along. Just look what's happened to Ireland.
 
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I am a Greek citizen (dual, also USA) and I have always been embarrassed by the Greek left. It was primarily the Greek left that got Greece into this mess in the first place. Since 1980 Socialist administration ran the country for all but 7 years. Austerity was for sucker and government coffers were emptied to secure elections.

Now Greece has austerity forced upon it. They don't like it, but the young have only to look a the system of benefits and patronage which allowed their parents to retire at 55 from cushy jobs which the government subsidized. That is over, and the pain is real but self-inflicted.
 
EU Budget Talks Collapse Without Deal...
:eusa_eh:
EU summit ends without budget deal
Nov 23, 2012 - But officials cite 'constructive' discussions
A summit of the European Union's 27 national leaders, charged with agreeing on a long-term budget for the bloc, broke up Friday afternoon without being able to reach a deal. Coming just days after the 17 eurogroup finance ministers failed, yet again, to agree on the conditions for releasing badly needed bailout money for Greece, the failure of the two-day summit raises questions about how the bloc makes important decisions. In most cases, unanimity is required, meaning that each country wields veto power. The EU's top officials, who put in long hours trying to soften up the national leaders individually before putting them together in the same meeting room, tried to put a brave face on the budget deadlock.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who presides over the summits, said the "constructive discussions" at the summit meant an agreement could be reached early next year. He added that the national leaders had instructed him and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to continue working toward consensus over the coming weeks. Barroso, too, called the talks constructive. But he added, "we are not yet at the point of reaching consensus." The prospect of failure had hung over the EU leaders' summit, charged with agreeing on a long-term spending plan of around (EURO)1 trillion ($1.25 trillion) for the 27-country bloc, even before the meeting began. Some countries wanted the budget to rise, while others insisted it had to fall.

Van Rompuy tried to thread the needle. He proposed a budget with some cuts, but in a post-summit press conference, he also offered a nod to those countries who believe greater spending is essential to spur growth in countries hit by recession. "Growth in one country benefits all," he said. British Prime Minister David Cameron, the most vocal proponent of holding the line on EU spending, said he had found "strong allies" in the Dutch and Swedish leaders. And, indeed, it appeared that some countries, including Germany, took pains to ensure that Britain - a country some fear may eventually withdraw from the EU - did not find itself isolated.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stressed that it was important that Britain "remain engaged" with Europe "because Britain is important to the EU as a whole." For his part, Cameron was firm. "The deal on the table from the EU President was just not good enough," Cameron told reporters after the summit broke up." "We haven't got the deal we wanted but we've stopped what would have been an unacceptable deal," he said. "And in European terms I think that goes down as progress."

MORE
 
EU Budget Talks Collapse Without Deal...
:eusa_eh:
EU summit ends without budget deal
Nov 23, 2012 - But officials cite 'constructive' discussions
A summit of the European Union's 27 national leaders, charged with agreeing on a long-term budget for the bloc, broke up Friday afternoon without being able to reach a deal. Coming just days after the 17 eurogroup finance ministers failed, yet again, to agree on the conditions for releasing badly needed bailout money for Greece, the failure of the two-day summit raises questions about how the bloc makes important decisions. In most cases, unanimity is required, meaning that each country wields veto power. The EU's top officials, who put in long hours trying to soften up the national leaders individually before putting them together in the same meeting room, tried to put a brave face on the budget deadlock.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who presides over the summits, said the "constructive discussions" at the summit meant an agreement could be reached early next year. He added that the national leaders had instructed him and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to continue working toward consensus over the coming weeks. Barroso, too, called the talks constructive. But he added, "we are not yet at the point of reaching consensus." The prospect of failure had hung over the EU leaders' summit, charged with agreeing on a long-term spending plan of around (EURO)1 trillion ($1.25 trillion) for the 27-country bloc, even before the meeting began. Some countries wanted the budget to rise, while others insisted it had to fall.

Van Rompuy tried to thread the needle. He proposed a budget with some cuts, but in a post-summit press conference, he also offered a nod to those countries who believe greater spending is essential to spur growth in countries hit by recession. "Growth in one country benefits all," he said. British Prime Minister David Cameron, the most vocal proponent of holding the line on EU spending, said he had found "strong allies" in the Dutch and Swedish leaders. And, indeed, it appeared that some countries, including Germany, took pains to ensure that Britain - a country some fear may eventually withdraw from the EU - did not find itself isolated.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stressed that it was important that Britain "remain engaged" with Europe "because Britain is important to the EU as a whole." For his part, Cameron was firm. "The deal on the table from the EU President was just not good enough," Cameron told reporters after the summit broke up." "We haven't got the deal we wanted but we've stopped what would have been an unacceptable deal," he said. "And in European terms I think that goes down as progress."

MORE
Be that as it may, I fail to see what that has to do with Greece, other than tangentially.

Anyway, I am beginning to think that Greece and the EU should find a way for Greece to adopt a new currency and stay in the Union. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the debt may be massive enough for Greece to regain financial sovereignty, let the chips fall where they may and hope that after a period of complete retooling of the economy and the catastrophic politics that led Greece to this brink.

Greeks, despite their proclivity for extremism, are not a stupid people and their country offers them enough resources and opportunities to rise again. like the Phoenix of their own mythology. The adjustment will be the dangerous period.
 

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