How the world sees Greece
Private lenders criticise Greek debt talks Financial Times Private creditors complained about being kept in the dark by the “troika” of official lenders during the protracted discussions over restructuring Greek sovereign debt, according to the group that represented them in talks. A report from a joint public ... |
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 Kathimerini | The Greeks and the diaspora Kathimerini Whenever Greece is in danger, the Greeks of the diaspora feel the need to contribute to the national struggle, honoring their roots, helping fellow Greeks whom they may never meet. The same applies today, with Greeks around the world wondering what ... |
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The Silent Victims of the Greek Debt Crisis Huffington Post Greece, founder of western democracy, the birthplace of the Olympics and philosophy, is dying. Ironically for a country that also lays claim to the being the birthplace of mathematics, it's the numbers that are hurting the most. The Greek economy is ... |
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday "outstanding issues" remain about the terms of Greece's bailout package, though there had been progress in discussions in recent days. The fund - part of the "troika" of Greece's international lenders along with the European Commission and the European Central Bank - also said Greece would discuss financing issues with its lenders, without immediately specifying a timeline. The fund's statement echoed similar comments from the European Commission on Wednesday. ...
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The cacophony in Europe over Greece grew yet louder as Athens and some of the Continent's economic leaders contradicted each other over an elusive agreement between the recession-hit country and its creditors.
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 CNBC.com | Euro Slips After Weak German Data; Fed Awaited CNBC.com Losses in the euro were limited after Greece's finance minister said Athens had been given additional time by international lenders to impose its austerity cuts, an assertion played down by leading EU officials. Germany's Ifo business sentiment fell in October ... German data add to eurozone crisis Germany not immune to eurozone slowdown Europe Isn't the Only Rotten Apple |
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Eurobank Steps Up Business Support to Boost Growth in Greece Bloomberg Greece's cash-starved economy is set to shrink for a fifth straight year in 2012 under the weight of austerity measures tied to two bailouts from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. National Bank of Greece SA made a bid earlier this ... No 'troika' debt deal on Greece yet, progress made: EU |
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 Telegraph.co.uk | Euro Recovers On Greece News, Downside Risks Far From Over Seeking Alpha (More...) The euro recovered from early losses incurred in the wake of disappointing eurozone PMI and German IFO business confidence data after news that Greece was given 2-year extension to reach budget targets, according to a leaked Memorandum of ... Euro rallies as draft MOU leaked in Greece Mario Draghi has robustly defended his bond-buying plan in Berlin today. |
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Greece's lenders say deal held up by a "few" issues Reuters ATHENS Oct 24 (Reuters) - Greece and its foreign lenders have made substantial progress but a "few" issues remain before the two sides can conclude a deal, a European Commission spokesman said on Wednesday. "Substantial progress has been made ... |
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Greece's Finance Minister said the country has been granted a long-sought extension to meet the terms of its bailout program — but the claim was swiftly shot down as "speculation" by the European Central Bank and lead lender Germany.
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The sacking of Przekrój's left-leaning editors is the latest in a narrowing of public debate to the neoliberal viewpoint
After 1989, eastern Europe was supposed to join the club of so-called "normal countries". From now on, we were told, there would be free speech, a free press and free debate, all prevented during the years of communist oppression. But in practice, this free liberal debate is anything but.
These days, whenever someone in the post-communist countries of eastern Europe tries to criticise the changes that their country have undergone, the tendency is to ridicule, or worse, silence them. We're all middle class now, we are told. Start your own little enterprises, consume and shut up. Those trying to discuss a solution to the current crisis other than the orthodox austerity measures is quickly dismissed.
So when a group of left-leaning editors took over the troubled Polish news weekly Przekrój ("Slant") last winter, it felt like a breath of fresh air in a public sphere usually divided evenly between neoliberalists and nationalists. Yet the change of direction didn't last long. After only a few months, and with the circulation having shrunk by roughly 50%, the editors were sacked and replaced with an editorial team with a track record in entertainment and lifestyle journalism.
What Przekrój had dared to try and do was initiate a debate about capitalism, in a country where the language of class struggle had supposedly been discredited. It interviewed trade unionists and spoke about strikes and opposition against austerity. They profiled prominent critics of the US and Israel, wrote features on David Harvey's Rebel Cities book, the Occupy movement, Spain's Indignados and last year's English riots. In sharp contrast, the rest of Poland's "liberal" establishment has largely turned a blind eye not just to developments abroad, but also those on its own doorstep.
For example, when Solidarity – one of the unions who played a key role in the 1989 uprisings – recently protested against the government's raising of the pension threshold from 65 to 67 years, its co-founder Lech Walesa said in an interview that he'd have liked to have seen the police face down the demonstrators. Such robust protests were legitimate if directed against a dictatorship, he said, but couldn't be tolerated in a modern democracy.
Did the protesters get a fair hearing in the media? One of the protesters complained about the government's lack of empathy with their cause: "What does he [prime minister Donald Tusk] know about being old and having to work in a coal mine?" Tellingly, his complaint wasn't found in any of the mainstream liberal outlets, but on an English-language blog. Class is an issue in modern Poland, but the media refuses to talk about it.
This protest, as well as recent strikes of nurses, was a rarity, because in the whole ex-bloc the culture of protest has largely died out with the end of communism. A look at a map of Indignados and Occupy solidarity marches on 15 October 2011 tells you all you need to know: there was almost nothing to the east of the former iron curtain, with only tiny groups in Warsaw, Bucharest and Prague.
This is even more surprising since eastern Europe – the Balkans and Baltic states especially – has been hit very hard by the crisis. Latvia has experienced economic collapse on the scale of Greece. But there is no Latvian Syntagma Square or Syriza party. In Poland, there are currently two kinds of protest: the old Solidarity generation still marches for workers' rights; while post-89 youngsters demonstrate on issues such as freedom of speech – in January thousands protested against the international counterfeiting and piracy agreement Acta. Yet how political that younger generation is remains unclear: what motivated them to take to the street wasn't unemployment or the scaling back of the welfare state, but the fear of free culture being taken from them.
All this is taking place in a situation where the state is focused on liberalising employment legislation, tax cuts and privatisation. Leszek Balcerowicz, the economist who adopted the "shock therapy" doctrine in the early 90s, today bemoans the "swollen public sector". Nobody investigates the dealings of Atos, who are not only active in Britain but will soon also be taking care of "benefit reform" in eastern European countries.
One of the reasons Poland has been able to avoid having a wider debate about the flaws of capitalism is that mass emigration, EU subsidies and exports to Germany have been covering up the tolls of the crisis.
Under the new editorial management, Przekrój's reaction to the jobs crisis has been much like that of the rightwing press in Britain: "Stop being so lazy and get on your bike!" Needless to say, the change in editorial direction has been cheered on by the economic liberals that dominate the debate in Poland. Unless the tone of the debate fundamentally changes soon, Poland will be taken completely by surprise when the crisis eventually starts to hit home
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 Irish Times | Greek Bonds Erase Drop on Deficit Comments as Spain's Bonds Rise Businessweek Spanish 10-year securities rose for the first time in four days as the Greek securities rebounded. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he had “no new knowledge” of a possible extension to Greece's budget deadline, after Greek Finance ... UPDATE 2-Greece says is has been allowed more time for austerity Objections by Greek junior government party blocks reforms deal Greek coalition allies block austerity plan over labor cuts |
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 Wall Street Journal | Greek Time-Extension Report Denied NASDAQ Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told parliament Wednesday that the two year extension--which has been sought by Greece's coalition government--had been agreed to. But his remarks come even as senior euro-zone leaders disputed that a deal ... Greek austerity draft proposes wage cuts, buys time for budget targets |
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Draghi says not aware of any Greek bailout decision Reuters BERLIN (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Wednesday international lenders had made progress in their review of Greece's implementation of austerity measures but he was not aware they had decided on extending its bailout ... |
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 Irish Times | UPDATE 2-Greece says is has been allowed more time for austerity Reuters Greek government allies yet to support labour reforms. By Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas. ATHENS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Greece's finance minister said on Wednesday that his country had been given additional time by its international lenders to ... German Bunds Little Changed Amid Opposing Greek Deficit Comments Objections by Greek junior government party blocks reforms deal Greek coalition allies block austerity plan over labor cuts |
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