How the world sees Greece
In Greece, Growing Restlessness Amid Push for Cuts New York Times ATHENS — Public opposition to austerity budgets deepened in Greece Monday, with judges stopping work, doctors going on strike and public transport staff and schoolteachers planning action for later this week. The moves are prelude to a general strike ... |
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Greek privatisation chief predicts bonanza Financial Times Greece could become “an El Dorado for investors” as it moves decisively to sell off infrastructure assets, the new head of the country's privatisation agency has said. Takis Athanasopoulos expects the disposal of DEPA, the state natural gas utility ... |
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Technocrats are on the rise, as is anti-politics sentiment, but politics remains the only way to answer complex questions
In June 2012, the second Greek elections took place along "pro" versus "anti" bailout lines. Although the German government had pledged not to endorse anyone in the Greek race, on the day before the election, Angela Merkel said it was vital for Greece to elect lawmakers who would respect austerity commitments. Not surprisingly, in the event, the exhausted and bewildered Greek electorate gave the main opposition party the right to form a coalition.
On the face of it, who could blame the Germans? Except, of course, never in recent history has so much interference been tolerated in the election of an independent sovereign country, and with so little comment outside that country about the unacceptability of such encroachment.
Politicians in Europe seem to be either adopting the guise of technocrats, or being replaced by them. In Germany, technocratic solutions (and a particular form of economic orthodoxy) suits both the German psyche and their economy. Yet the removal of the prime minister in Greece – like the removal of both the prime minister and the cabinet in Italy – could be seen, in some respects, as a coup.
Politics and professional technocracy have blended seamlessly. Faith in technocrats over politicians is not a trend from which Britain is exempt. Peter Keller, president of polling organisation YouGov, tested in spring the proposition that "Britain would be governed better if our politicians got out of the way, and instead our ministers were non-political experts who knew how to run large organisations". Almost as many people agreed, 38%, as disagreed, 43%.
But it is at this moment we need politics and, dare I say it, politicians more than ever. Both to articulate the language of priorities, as described by Aneurin Bevan, but also to mediate and decide between contradictory demands from the public and short-term pressures alongside long-term imperatives. How much should we cut spending? Do we need to raise taxes? How do we structure our health and education systems? Making progress on these complex issues can be met only by elections, political engagement and democracy.
Yet in order to defend politics and therefore political democracy, we need to change the way in which we "do" our politics. My pamphlet In Defence of Politics Revisited, published this week, sets out several concrete suggestions for how to achieve this.
One unusual but not unthinkable idea, for instance, is for government to directly support mutual action and key campaigns. In the spring of 2012, consumer magazine Which? organised, under the heading The Big Switch, the coming together of almost 40,000 people in order to negotiate a better deal on domestic energy consumption. Government support for such initiatives would be transformational.
Similarly, nurturing the process of getting people to run their own facilities locally can be seen as one of the few positive developments from the austerity agenda. There are good examples in North America of how services have been reshaped to offer this new way of meeting need. In Oregon, for example, people with mental health conditions are helped to live independent lives through a personal budget. They are assigned an adviser to identify goals and how to best use the budget to buy goods and services which will help them achieve these aims. "Co-delivery" would help people to help themselves.
At the heart of pioneering a new approach to service delivery, we also need new finance mechanisms to help tackle the widening gap between rich and poor. This should include lifelong accounts developed jointly between the individual and government contributions.
And at the centre of all this, we must refocus politics on core issues that matter most to people. Taking on the challenges of an ageing population and affordable retirement, and mobilising civil society through volunteering (including direct support to the million young people out of work and training) will require engagement, creative thinking and determination.
We need to reaffirm that politics is not merely compatible with economic progress and development in the 21st century, but essential to it. In Europe, we cannot hope to move forward in a co-operative and productive way whilst one country seeks to dominate. But by confirming the importance of politics and politicians in Britain, we can build from the bottom up, and begin to reverse the worrying anti-politics trend, which will empower the elite technocrats and leave defenceless the man or woman in the street with a mere vote to cast.
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 Kansas City Star | Cuts protests paralyze Greek courts, hospitals as unpaid bills mount Washington Post The latest round of action between unions and the Greek coalition is the most serious confrontation yet, and is in protest of the government's ever-increasing mountain of unpaid bills and salaries. Loading... Comments · Weigh In · Corrections? Personal ... Cuts protests paralyze Greek courts, hospitals |
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 Telegraph.co.uk | Merkel urges go-slow approach to EU bank supervision Reuters * Merkel says "unlikely" Jan 1 deadline will be met * No ESM aid to banks before bank supervisor in place * ECB bond buys justified, politicians should not question By Noah Barkin and Stephen Brown BERLIN, Sept 17 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela ... Merkel Leaves Door Open to Grand Coalition After 2013 Election Eurozone crisis live: Angela Merkel insists Greece can stay in the euro Merkel insists bank supervision must not be rushed |
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 The Star Online | Greek PM Antonis Samaras to confer with Italian counterpart Mario Monti: official Economic Times ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will meet Italian counterpart Mario Monti in Rome on Friday amid ongoing efforts to secure more time for the country's fiscal adjustment, an official said. Samaras "on Friday has an important visit to Rome ... Greek PM: Exit from eurozone 'not an option' An interview with Antonis Samaras, Greek prime minister, on austerity and unrest Greek exit from euro would be 'catastrophic' |
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 euronews | Merkel says politicians must not interfere on ECB bond buying Reuters | BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said politicians had no business deciding how much debt the European Central Bank should buy on the secondary market as part of its plans to tackle the euro zone crisis. Debt crisis: Angela Merkel quizzed on euro crisis - live Merkel insists bank supervision must not be rushed Europe needs unity, economic success for global say: Angela Merkel |
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Greek judges and hospital doctors have started working to rule over planned austerity cuts in the most serious confrontation between unions and government since a three-party coalition was formed three months ago.
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Telegraph.co.uk | Debt crisis: Angela Merkel quizzed on euro crisis - live Telegraph.co.uk • Spain shuns further cuts as unrest grows • Angela Merkel to be quizzed at annual press conference • Austria finmin: Greece to get more time to repay loans • Tsipras: Greek extension means "more rope to hang ourselves with" Latest 10.12 The German ... Merkel underlines desire to keep Greece in eurozone, but offering no new ... Germany boosting consumption, not just focused on savings-Merkel Merkel: Wants dialogue to solve China-Europe solar panel dispute |
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 Kathimerini | Greek professors discovering new prospects in Balkans and Middle East Kathimerini Albanian and Bulgarian universities are increasingly advertising for Greek professors to take up posts at their institutions, while, according to sources, other professors have used their sabbaticals in order to take up lucrative teaching jobs in ... Crisis Pushes Greek Students to Bulgaria, Romania |
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Cuts protests paralyze Greek courts, hospitals CNBC.com ATHENS, Greece - Judges and hospital doctors in Greece have begun what they intend to be lengthy protests against planned austerity measures, the most serious confrontation between unions and government since a three-party coalition was formed three ... |
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