| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Election 2012 |
| Greek Candidates Make Final Pleas On Vote Today |
| 2012-06-17 |
| Greek political leaders made their final campaign pleas before elections tomorrow that may determine whether the country becomes the first member of the euro to leave the currency union. “The first thing we must determine in the elections on June 17 is to choose between the euro or drachma,” New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras told a crowd of flag-waving supporters in central Syntagma square last night. He faced the Parliament building in Athens, the site of protests against austerity measures demanded in return for 240 billion euros ($303 billion) of emergency aid pledges. A vote for the anti- bailout Syriza party “means Greece out of the euro,” he said. The vote will turn on whether Greeks, in a fifth year of recession, accept open-ended austerity to stay in the euro or reject the bailout conditions and risk the turmoil of exiting the 17-nation currency. World leaders, who gather for a summit in Mexico June 18, have said they’d prefer a pro-euro result, underscoring concern over global repercussions. Almost 10 million Greeks are eligible to vote for the second time in six weeks after a May 6 ballot failed to yield a government. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 Seems like economics and politics are always bedfellows. Greek elections and politics |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-06-17 16:36 |
| #4 Absolutely, AlanC. A vote for the anti- bailout Syriza party "means Greece out of the euro," he said. Yes, and it means throwing off the shackles - not to mention setting an example for the rest. The EU needs [member state X] a lot more than [member state X] needs the EU. Syriza is "radical" because they recognize this - that Greece has a gigantic bargaining chip. They're not so much radical or anti-bailout as anti-establishment. Good for them. |
| Posted by: RandomJD 2012-06-17 16:30 |
| #3 AH, I think that you're wrong here. The underlying issue is very much politics, just not Greek politics. The EU is poised on the point of making or breaking. The politics is all about the European Project, the total union of Europe into one gov't. This week will see the revelation of the "new" treaty that will basically give virtually all sovereignty to the un-elected bureaucracy in Brussels. Total economic control over borrowing, taxes, spending, etc. will devolve to the EU under the guise of fiscal and banking union. This will be Europes "Commerce Clause", the justification for any imposition of control they choose to invoke. So this will be it. Will there be a free country left in Europe? The non-Euro countries (UK, Sweden, etc.) might opt out but we will see. Oh, BTW, I've started to see the acronym PFIGS. Seems that France under the Socialists are vying for a spot in the bailout. Can Germany bailout everyone? Hang on to your hats this could be a bumpy ride. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2012-06-17 12:48 |
| #2 The underlying issue is not politics but the insolvency of the global economy/banking industry. Politicians have been bailing frantically to prevent the ship from sinking, but have only papered over the defect (with paper money, of course). Taxpayers & bondholders worldwide have been burdened with an ever-increasing load of bad debt. The Greek crisis is merely a canary dying in a mine shaft. From This Time Is Different, by Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff: Highly indebted governments, banks, or corporations can seem to be merrily rolling along for an extended period, when bang – confidence collapses, lenders disappear, and a crisis hits...What one does see, again and again, in the history of financial crises is that when an accident is waiting to happen, it eventually does. When countries become too deeply indebted, they are headed for trouble. When debt-fueled asset price explosions seem too good to be true, they probably are. But the exact timing can be very difficult to guess, and a crisis that seems imminent can sometimes take years to ignite." It has been almost 5 years since this crisis started. I am just surprised things haven't gotten worse. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-06-17 11:44 |
| #1 The Greek economy isn't all that big and we don't trade much with Greece. However, the psychology of the market tends to become reality and Wall Street reacts when someone sneezes across the world. "PIGS"; Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain economies are in poor shape. There could be economic dominoes in these countries. Globalization has caused economies to be far too inter-connected. However, it is possible that a weakening of the Euro could strengthen the dollar, yen, pound, and Canadian dollar since investors will be looking for safe havens for investments. Should be an interesting couple of weeks with SCOTUS issuing an ObamaCare decision, Congress deciding whether to cite Holder for contempt, a hearing in Florida to determine whether Obama's documents are forged, and the fall out from Obama's decree on immigration. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-06-17 09:06 |