southeastern europe

Until yesterday morning I was arguing that although I did not support the 'no' vote I would support the government in its negotiations. I criticized people who were drawn to the vortex of the polarization the referendum had caused and suggested we all needed to look ahead.  Yet, the government itself arrived in Brussels with no proposals. Alexis Tsipras snubbed the European Parliament before he finally accepted to appear there today. He invited the leaders of the Greek political parties in a conference about the country's next moves and called for national unity while winking at those who at the same time vilified figures who supported the 'yes' campaign. The silence that shrouds the inclusion of the half million of nazis who voted no into the 'progressive' 'people' was in sharp contrast with the wanton and determined campaign to bundle together and brand those who voted 'yes' as collaborators of the Germans (resurrecting terms that were u...

Folgen der Finanzkrise für Griechenland  Die Mauern der Bürokratie müssen fallen   08.10.2011 " Greece is smothered by its bureaucracy. Corruption and nepotism have raised a destructive wall in the midst of the country. Many young people do not have a chance. If this system is not demolished, Greece cannot be saved". Folgen der Finanzkrise für Griechenland  Das alte Land kämpft gegen den Untergang 08.10.2011 "the old Greece is fighting to survive". Excellent analysis of the social and political dynamics unleashed, or rather, revealed by the crisis. Orthodox church appears to be exempt from austerity measures 04.10.2011   Church funds are taboo in Greece. Its income is liable to taxation, but there are two major stumbling blocks. There is no accounting system to detail its actual income and no one really knows quite how much land it owns because there is no land register. This situation suits both the church and the state, "because politicians ar...

Excellent, sober analysis of the Greek (Eurozone) crisis by Kevin Featherstone Angela Merkel is pushing Greece beyond the pain threshold This is a crisis made in Athens, but it is in no one's interest to drive Greece into political chaos Kevin Featherstone guardian.co.uk , Friday 30 April 2010 13.00 BST This week Greece and the eurozone entered an unknown time zone, of uncertainty and failure. The international financial markets are increasingly convinced that Greece will default on its debt. In the City, analysts estimate Greece will need aid of about €70bn (£60.6bn) this year, €60bn next year and €56bn in 2012. In "hedge fund" offices, the task for the Greek government appears overwhelming: its no longer if, but when it will default. But no one knows whether a default by Greece would require its exit from the eurozone. In effect, Greece already defaulted this week. As soon as its bonds were declared to be "junk" – with no ...