Agora
Posts by Nick Malkoutzis
Kostas Karamanlis as comeback kid?
A number of eyebrows were raised last week when an opinion poll suggested that former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, who oversaw Greece’s fiscal derailment between 2004 and 2009, is the most popular candidate to take over from Antonis Samaras as New Democracy leader.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (407), Greece (519)
Alexis's choice
Alexis Tsipras seems to have chosen his path. Whether he will manage to reach the end of it is another matter, but the prime minister’s decision to shake up Greece’s negotiating team and to issue a common statement with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last week made it clear that he prefers the option of agreeing with lenders rather than being left in limbo, or worse.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (407), Greece (519)
The faces change, the issues remain the same
Such has been the impasse between Greece and its lenders over the last three month (add a few more on if you want to look beyond just this government’s shortcomings) that markets reacted with some joy to the news on Monday that one inexperienced economics professor is replacing another as the central figure in Athens’s negotiations with creditors.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (407), Greece (519)
Greece is gasping for a deal
The Greek government made another payment to the International Monetary Fund earlier this month. This time it was just 450 million euros, a relatively manageable amount compared to the 1.5 billion that Greece had to pay back to the IMF in March. Each of these payments brings relief that a possible default has been avoided, but they also bring greater anxiety that a default is getting closer.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (407), Economy (341), Greece (519)
Greece and its lenders: Where do you start?
Since it was first recorded in 1944 by American public administrator David Lilienthal, the following anecdote has been told many times and in many ways: A traveller asks a local man for directions and, after much thought, the latter turns to the visitor and says: “My friend, I tell you; if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here.” As Greece and the eurozone remain some distance apart on how to conclude their bailout negotiations, it seems a good time to return to this tale.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (289), Politics (407), Economy (341), Greece (519)