Agora
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 (407), Economy (341), Greece (519)
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 (407), Economy (341), Greece (519)
![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 (289), Politics (407), Society (149), Greece (519)
Where did all the money go?
The total amount of loans the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund supplied to Greece between May 2010 and the most recent disbursements last summer stand at 226.7 billion euros. This is equivalent to almost 125 percent of Greece's economic activity in 2014.
Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Europe (289), Economy (341), Greece (519)
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 (289), Politics (407), Greece (519)