Greece Elections
- Thread starter sityeuropa
- Start date
This may well split Spain tbh. Russia are very much entrenched there. So quite possibly some nasty stuff being said and done on that front.
Soldato
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Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Approximately 340 billion euros, which would be around 100% of GDP if Greece had been allowed to recover following the crisis but the austerity imposed on them has massively shrunk the economy leaving to this being around 130% of GDP.
The Greek economy was knackared up well before any austerity was 'imposed' on them. You make it sound as if austerity caused the Greeks issues, but that's the opposite of the truth. The Greek economy has been mis-managed for over 3 decades. There are only so many loans and credit a country can take before investors take the view that they are never likely to see their money back, and credit dries up. Failure to reform the economy by a succession of bone-headed socialist governments (the Greek people themselves share a substantial amount of the blame, because they had lots of opportunities to vote the socialists out), and then trying to slip-stream on the coat-tails of the madness that is the Euro, has all brought it to a head.
Greece should be kicked out of the Euro for sure. The bind they are in, which has removed the ability of monetary policy to be used, and thus pushed everything onto fiscal policy has been shown up for the nonsense it is, and their exiting of the Euro would solve at least this.
The Greeks failed to implement most of the measures, that is why the money was being withheld and why the country failed to recover despite a 50% debt write off and very favourable credit terms.
Why it is such a shock that the rest of the eurozone has had enough?
The Greek people have had enough.
Indeed, but that doesn't oblige the people to the rest of Europe to appease them.
What people seem to forget is why Greece was forced to join the Euro in the first place... so Chirac could channel investment into Greece that would be taken up by French and German companies that would favour the French and German economies... Which is why Goldman cooked the books to make it seem as if Greece was ready.
People also forget that poor countries in the Euro benefit Germany more than Germany benefits them. Guess what happens when Mercedes/VW/BWMs and Audis are cheaper in comparison to American/Japanese cars... Yeap.. Germany reaps the rewards...So although they are a contributor to the Euro they reap the rewards of a hugely devalued currency (compared to a currency with just Germany being the sole user).
Also people seem to forget that the IMFs economist advised against bailing out Greece, but no... Strauss Khan HAD to win the presidential elections he was intending to run for, so had to save the major French banks who lend all that money, without doing their due diligence. Surely with pressure from Germany to save their banks as well...
So against every single economist's opinion, Greece was bailed out instead of let to default at a time when the economy was much better and could've regained its ground and more importantly without any help from any countries in the Eurozone ... Even the IMFs economists are now saying about debt relief, something most economists have been saying from the start... Again, the previous relief happened so BANKS (French + German mainly) would not fail because of their massive unsecured loans and money they had to take advantage of the high interest rates and high return on investments.
Sure I acknowledge Greece's system needs to change to become more efficient, but how is that promoted when you throw money at them and saying "yea just do these and we are fine??".
I am for the current situation, and I can't wait for Greece to come out of the Euro, even though it is in my interest for Greece to remain, as Cyprus' main export partner is....Greece, with 30% of our exports going to Greece.. If they default and go to the drachma these will fall.
People also forget that poor countries in the Euro benefit Germany more than Germany benefits them. Guess what happens when Mercedes/VW/BWMs and Audis are cheaper in comparison to American/Japanese cars... Yeap.. Germany reaps the rewards...So although they are a contributor to the Euro they reap the rewards of a hugely devalued currency (compared to a currency with just Germany being the sole user).
Also people seem to forget that the IMFs economist advised against bailing out Greece, but no... Strauss Khan HAD to win the presidential elections he was intending to run for, so had to save the major French banks who lend all that money, without doing their due diligence. Surely with pressure from Germany to save their banks as well...
So against every single economist's opinion, Greece was bailed out instead of let to default at a time when the economy was much better and could've regained its ground and more importantly without any help from any countries in the Eurozone ... Even the IMFs economists are now saying about debt relief, something most economists have been saying from the start... Again, the previous relief happened so BANKS (French + German mainly) would not fail because of their massive unsecured loans and money they had to take advantage of the high interest rates and high return on investments.
Sure I acknowledge Greece's system needs to change to become more efficient, but how is that promoted when you throw money at them and saying "yea just do these and we are fine??".
I am for the current situation, and I can't wait for Greece to come out of the Euro, even though it is in my interest for Greece to remain, as Cyprus' main export partner is....Greece, with 30% of our exports going to Greece.. If they default and go to the drachma these will fall.
well they've got a bit more coming unfortunately, they voted in the silly party...
I feel especially sorry for the Greeks who didn't vote in the current lot and are probably rather miffed at how badly their govt has handled this crisis.
Maybe the people in Europe feel for them?
Soldato
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I think most of us called that Greece was going to leave the Euro 5 years ago but this got delayed due to stubborn politicians and now it will cost the remaining Euro nations even more money
They still have the most expensive state pension system in Europe. I do feel sorry for the Greeks but I'm afraid their problems are down to their own governments which they elected.