Agora
Posts on October 2014
Managing an orderly Greek exit from the memorandum
The narrative of how and when to exit the memorandum is currently at the heart of the discussion in Athens. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras insists that Greece does not require a third financial support programme from the troika of international creditors.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Economy (329), Greece (496)
Greece's biggest problem? Society's lack of openness
I started writing my book, “The Thirteenth Labour of Hercules”, a couple of months after the June 2012 elections. In that nailbiting showdown, a bruised and battered electorate narrowly opted for the pro-bailout camp, headed by New Democracy, over the fiery, austerity-bashing rhetoric of SYRIZA. As has been confirmed by numerous key players since then, the formation of a coalition government willing to stay within the confines the Greek programme was not enough for some in Europe, who kept on pushing for Greece to be pushed out of the eurozone for weeks after.
Contributor: Yannis Palaiologos
Categories: Politics (385), Society (140), Greece (496)
What would a clean bailout exit for Greece mean in numbers?
The discussion in Greece associated with exiting the troika program early is politically charged, primarily because it has a high degree of correlation with the viability of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s government.
Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Economy (329), Greece (496)
Growth, recovery, change and other words lost in the wind
Unable to devalue their currency during this crisis, eurozone policy makers have feverishly cheapened words instead. Over the last few years the value of words like solidarity, reform, competitiveness, adjustment and relief has plummeted.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (385), Economy (329), Greece (496)
‘We’re dying to pay our taxes’
Like thousands of citizens, Nikolas Elliniadis had left it to deadline day to go to his bank, in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, to pay the first of six instalments of Greece’s new property tax, the latest levy to hit a population beleaguered after five years of austerity.
Contributor: Damian Mac Con Uladh
Categories: Society (140), Greece (496)