Agora
Greece: Where did it all go wrong?
When Greece returned to international bond markets in April this year after a four-year exile, it was trumpeted by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as another step towards the crisis exit door. “Confidence in our country was confirmed by the most objective judge – the markets,” he said after investors snapped up three billion euros of five-year bonds with a coupon of 4.75 percent. Exactly seven months later, though, the yield on those bonds shot up to almost 10 percent. Suddenly, the markets do not seem so confident. So, what went wrong?
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (387), Greece (498)
![Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2013/11/21/tsipras_1000_myrto_2111-large.jpg "Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]")
SYRIZA's date with history
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras is following a well-trodden route by trying to force early elections over the presidential ballot. Several others before him have tried to exploit the loophole in the Greek constitution which means that snap polls have to be held if 180 MPs cannot be found to back a presidential candidate. The most recent opposition leader to follow this tactic was PASOK’s George Papandreou in 2009.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (387), Greece (498)
2014 is not 2012
Since the eurozone crisis kicked off towards the end of 2009 in Greece there has been no other institution that has gained in prominence like the European Central Bank.
Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Economy (331), Greece (498)
From London to Paris, no happy returns for Greece
Last week saw Greek politicians clock up air miles to European destinations. Government representatives flew to Paris in order to meet a troika delegation that has repeatedly delayed its return to Athens.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Politics (387), Economy (331), Greece (498)
Waiting for Godot in Greece
According to its Wikipedia article, Waiting for Godot by Irish writer Samuel Beckett is an absurdist play, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot. The current situation in Athens has remarkable similarities with this classic piece of European literature.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (282), Politics (387), Economy (331), Greece (498)