Agora
Posts by Nick Malkoutzis
SYRIZA's only chance
“We want people on the streets, we want you to protest,” SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras told the crowd at his last campaign speech in Athens on Thursday. He and his party envision that popular will can be the rising tide to lift SYRIZA in its battle with the troika and struggle to tame domestic opponents. The thinking goes that if the people are visibly on SYRIZA’s side its bargaining position will be impregnable.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (413), Greece (527)
The bad hand being dealt to Greece's next government
In mid-November, when Greece’s exit from recession was confirmed, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras declared: “Greece is back.” It was not the first time the Greek premier argued that the country had overcome the worst of its problems. Similar declarations came with Greece’s return to bond markets earlier in the year, when the 2013 primary surplus was confirmed and when the troika review was concluded in April 2013, spawning the “success story” narrative.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (413), Economy (348), Greece (527)
![Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2014/08/28/ndsupporters_myrto_2808-large.jpg "Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]")
Samaras strays out of line in search for new normal
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has a habit of defending his government by saying that his aim is to make Greece “a normal European country.” Whatever he may mean by this and however genuine he may be in wanting Greece to recover from its long crisis, this is an infuriatingly patronising comment. Intentionally or not, it aligns Greece’s prime minister with all the cranks in Europe and Greece’s misinformed critics beyond who view the country as some kind of basket case.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (296), Politics (413), Society (150), Greece (527)
How snap elections in Greece fit into Samaras's strategy
Snap elections in Greece have been on the cards for a while. Every move made by the government in recent months (negotiations with the troika in Paris, the early bailout exit plan, calling a sudden vote of confidence and moving the date of the presidential vote forward by two months) have been vain attempts to put off the inevitable. There was never a convincing case that the coalition’s candidate would be able to gather the minimum 180 votes needed and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s half-hearted attempts to offer a potentially game-changing compromise over the past week were far too little, too late.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (413), Greece (527)
A little more persuasion, a little less reaction
When European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took sides a few days ago ahead of possible snap elections in Greece, he overstepped the boundary that keeps EU officials from openly expressing an opinion about domestic politics in another country. The gradual scrubbing out of this dividing line can only damage the EU’s interests in the long-term. In the short-term, this type of intervention is detrimental to Greece.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (296), Politics (413), Greece (527)