Posted on 05/08/2012 11:56:12 AM PDT by tcrlaf
BERLIN — Leading German politicians warned Greece on Tuesday that the country would not receive a cent more aid unless it fulfills all the conditions of its international bailout.
An election on Sunday in Greece failed to deliver a parliamentary majority for the two big pro-bailout parties, plunging the country into political limbo and increasing the risk that another vote may be required to resolve the impasse.
On Tuesday, the leader of the Left Coalition party, which benefited from rising anger over austerity to take second place in Sunday’s poll, declared Greece’s policy pledges under its EU/IMF rescue null and void.
As Europe’s largest economy, Germany has contributed the biggest share of the financial guarantees under Greece’s bailout, which is paid out in installments on the condition that Athens meets specific savings goals.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
This could be very interesting. Welch on an agreement, but take the aide anyway - then tell the EU to keep bailing them out.
Wonder what the young folk in Greece are going to do, when Germany decides to let them crash? Kudo’s to Germany for having a spine - I doubt the our leaders would show this kind of backbone.
If you don’t eat yer meat, you can’t have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?!
Ha!
Although no one wants to pull the band-aid off, a crash and exit from the Euro would help the Greeks immensely.
They would default, a lot of EU banks and the EU Central Bank would take a big haircut (bigger than they have already), the Drachma would return at a devalued level, Greece would pay real interest rates, Gov’t spending would collapse, pain would be felt - but before long - growth would return.
That is - until the leftist @sses returned as well.
What are the odds of them going the Iceland route? Going to their creditors and saying “here is our best offer take it or we walk”.
That would entail COMMON SENSE, which means it won’t happen.
Promises were made by the leftists in exchange for votes. Greeks were promised retirement at 50, and Welfare in perpetuity. The mice want their cheese, they ‘PAID FOR IT!”, dammit.
At this point, I can see no scenario in which this ends well, for Greeks, for Greece, or for the EU.
I have no doubt that a few more countries will be in the Greek’s boat shortly, I just don’t know if Greece can keep it together long enough for enough to fall apart and increase the Greek leverage.
Right. It’s no different than parents who want to teach wastrel children to be responsible.
Why keep spoiling children with toys, candy, trips to Disneyland... etc. ?
After a while they need to grow up and comprehend that it’s time to pay for their OWN luxuries or else do without them!
They seem to be a very large welfare state with massive fraud driving the internal economy. Iceland was different in many (better) ways. If they default, trade will be restricted, fined, or cut off all together. Greece is a point in fact of why the Euro was a bad idea IMO.
The problem in “walking”...is that they really don’t manufacture enough to provide basic essentials to the Greek public. An example...insulin. Almost all of the insulin sold in Greek stores....comes from Italy or France. I was reading a business article back in January and discussing the problem where the state health care system could not ensure enough insulin was at your local pharmacy. So you had people being forced to provide cash to the drug shop....which was send onto France. That was the only way to get your monthly supply of insulin into the neighborhood drug store.
If they “walk”....I don’t think any company who will deal or sell anything to the Greeks unless they see absolute cash in their hand. You could see a rapidly slowed economy then....absolutely dependent upon tourism. It’d turn into an absolute mess within 100 days.
Witness the end result of the Welfare State. A bunch of lazy layabouts who have sucked their country dry and have no more “other peoples’ money” in their own country to spend. So they start screaming for people in other countries to support them. The one common denominator is that someone else owes them a living and that they should get money to do nothing.
I think that's a conservative estimate.
They would default, but a lot of Greece’s economy depends on hand-outs from the EU. Without it, the infrastructure would collapse. Mainly, the Greeks have had decades of living off EU largesse, cutting them off would have shocking consequences...
big difference - in Iceland it was banks speculation that was out of control, in Greece it’s the government and civil society (under influence from the gubmint) that went out of control
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