Agora
Posts by Jens Bastian
What will be on the agenda for talks between Merkel and Tsipras?
This Monday, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will fly to Berlin to meet the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Some observers have characterised this face-to-face meeting as Tsipras taking the risk of walking straight into the lion’s den.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (282), Politics (387), Greece (498)
Less is more: The Greek government needs a chisel, not a sledgehammer
The parliamentary majority achieved by the SYRIZA-led coalition government following the 25 January elections constitutes a strong political mandate in mathematical terms. Among one of the many immediate challenges facing the new administration is trying to translate its numerical advantage into a majority of support among Greek citizens, including those who did not vote for the senior coalition party.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Politics (387), Greece (498)
The demand for Greek debt relief: Is the cart being put before the horse?
The focus of economic debates during this electoral campaign in Greece has tended to converge on one issue: Is the country’s accumulated public debt sustainable or does it need to be restructured for a second time after the PSI of 2012? Domestic and international observers of various professional and political provenances have weighed into this debate in the course of recent weeks.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (282), Politics (387), Economy (331), Greece (498)
Searching for electoral manifestos and overcoming voting obstacles in Greece
As the electoral campaign has started to heat up in Greece, the focus of domestic and international attention has increasingly been on various policy proposals from SYRIZA, the main opposition party in the outgoing parliament and frontrunner in the opinion polls.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Politics (387), Economy (331), Greece (498)
Voting for brinkmanship while the real economy needs solutions
Athens’ addiction to partisanship and political drama was yet again on full display during the last days of 2014. The election of the country’s president by parliament through an open roll call may appear unusual for observers from outside Greece. But the outdated electoral procedure through the assembly makes for lively political theatre in a climate of ferocious unreasonableness.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (282), Politics (387), Greece (498)