The situations now faced by European countries are comparable to those in far poorer countries going back decades, and continuing todayAs the news of Syriza’s victory in Greece sinks in, the question dominating the headlines is how it will renegotiate the country’s massive debt, close to twice the size of its GDP. All the signs are that the incoming government is going to renege on previous commitments to austerity, agreed with/imposed by creditors, refuse to pay its debts in the timeline agreed and, consequently, end the cycle of public spending cuts that stricter repayment has required.And Greece is not the only headache for creditors, with concerns already being raised about the impact of the country’s tough stance further afield. If Greece can go down this route, why not Spain, a far bigger economy? Podemos, the Spanish equivalent of Syriza, is the country’s most popular party, according to polls, and it is committed to following Syriza’s lead.The list of countries opposing a debt restructuring mechanism reads like a roll call of traditionally powerful players Continue reading...
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