Germany wants Greece to delay elections, adopt technocrat gov

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/319769

 

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has suggested Greece delay elections planned for April, and instead adopt a technocrat government free of politicians.

Relations between Germany and Greece are becoming increasingly tense. Germany has expressed its doubts about Greece's commitment to austerity measures and reforms necessary to secure the bail out loan to prevent bankruptcy in March. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has now seen fit to interfere in internal politics in Greece by suggesting that Greece delay elections planned for April and instead adopt a technocrat government for a year. The FT reported that Schäubles technocrat government would not include Greek politicians.

 

This latest suggestion follows a German proposal that Greece give up budgetary sovereignty, which Digital Journal reported on in January. That suggestion was met by almost universal derision, with most European nations believing that Germany had over stepped the mark and insulted Greece.

In addition to Schäubles idea of telling Greece to postpone its elections, Athens News reported he has also raised the matter of bail out loan funds being held in an "escrow account to ringfence funds for debt payments" again. This idea was first raised after Greece rejected the notion of handing over its budget sovereignty, and would mean that funds could not be used for any state spending until all debt interest payments are made.

 

Interestingly the hard line is being pushed by the German Finance Minister rather than Chancellor Angela Merkel. Neverthless Schäuble has been perceived as insulting Greece, leading to Greek President Karolos Papoulias saying "I cannot accept Mr Schaeuble insulting my country. Who is Mr Schäuble to insult Greece?"

Even as Schäuble continues to make such politically charged statements, Greek officials have announced they have agreed the final set of conditions necessary to secure the bail out loan, by settling on the further 325 million euro of cuts that the Troika demanded. However with relations so tense between the leading EU player Germany, and Greece, it is by no means a done deal that the loan will be issued, or if issued it could have further German demanded conditions attached that could infringe on Greek sovereignty.

 

http://digitaljournal.com/article/318656

 

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/11/53402

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I'm really trying NOT to invoke Godwin's Law here, but seriously, WTF is this all about..? When was the last time that Germany "suggested" Greece should cancel its Democratic processes..? I'm pretty sure any Greek could probably tell you the answer to that question. Germany is doing itself no favours at all in how it's allowing its banks to treat Greece, and Angela Merkel herself has been taking some incredibly dodgy turns lately, almost seeming to transmogrify into a German version of Margaret Thatcher...... *shudders* This "suggestion" has more than a sinister overtone about it when one considers what actually has happened to Greek PM Papandreou, basically he was removed from power as soon as he mentioned the word "referendum" and replaced by a Technocrat who the Greeks didn't vote for. One has to wonder if Germany was behind that all along, this suggestion from the German finance minister raised suspicions even further...

 

As usual, the new Greek deal does nothing but save the banks... http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainme...saves-the-banks , the Greek people...? Hey, who cares about them right...? -_-

I am really getting sick of this German/UK lead 'yay for austerity' horseshit. It doesn't work. Hell, if it did the Greek economy would be the fastest growing in the world, except it isn't it's just falling further and further into a recession so deep its recovery is now going to be miraculous if it takes less than a decade.

 

In times of a global recession/recovery the governments should be supporting the economy and encouraging growth in any way it can. Cutting welfare bills at a time when all the other cuts the government has made has increased dramatically the number of people on welfare is so insulting it's almost unbelievable.

 

 

I think Greek creditors should have had their debt swapped for new bonds with an initial period of 5 years where the Greeks do not repay a cent before they have to start making debt payments again. This would allow the government time to implement reforms to the tax system to ensure that people pay what they owe and then start to encourage the recovery of the economy. The EU could have provided Greece with a small loan of 15-25bn to help the recovery process and sent in some financial advisor's and the likes to help the Greeks know what to pour money into (infrastructure projects that provide employment) and where they are just pissing money away. Implement some efficiency cuts whilst pushing money into the economy and creating jobs would help them recover and if it had worked Europe would be perfectly fine, well apart from the UK. We be fu]cked Greece or no Greece.

 

 

Naturally if the Greeks didn't do shit in that 5 year period I have absolutely no problem with the EU coming in and sorting it for them. Provided, of course, they included the Greeks and stepped back to observing once things started to look up and the buggered off entirely when the Greeks got the hang of it.

I am really getting sick of this German/UK lead 'yay for austerity' horseshit. It doesn't work. Hell, if it did the Greek economy would be the fastest growing in the world, except it isn't it's just falling further and further into a recession so deep its recovery is now going to be miraculous if it takes less than a decade.

 

In times of a global recession/recovery the governments should be supporting the economy and encouraging growth in any way it can. Cutting welfare bills at a time when all the other cuts the government has made has increased dramatically the number of people on welfare is so insulting it's almost unbelievable.

I think Greek creditors should have had their debt swapped for new bonds with an initial period of 5 years where the Greeks do not repay a cent before they have to start making debt payments again. This would allow the government time to implement reforms to the tax system to ensure that people pay what they owe and then start to encourage the recovery of the economy. The EU could have provided Greece with a small loan of 15-25bn to help the recovery process and sent in some financial advisor's and the likes to help the Greeks know what to pour money into (infrastructure projects that provide employment) and where they are just pissing money away. Implement some efficiency cuts whilst pushing money into the economy and creating jobs would help them recover and if it had worked Europe would be perfectly fine, well apart from the UK. We be fu]cked Greece or no Greece.

Naturally if the Greeks didn't do shit in that 5 year period I have absolutely no problem with the EU coming in and sorting it for them. Provided, of course, they included the Greeks and stepped back to observing once things started to look up and the buggered off entirely when the Greeks got the hang of it.

 

It's very selective "austerity" too. It's not austerity if you're rich, or one of the political elites,or a banker, it's austerity if you're poor, working class, lower middle-class... And especially if you're Greek, Portuguese, Spanish or Irish...