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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » In Greece the crisis over the Euro is set to become a Drach

SystemSystem Posts: 12,218
edited June 2015 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » In Greece the crisis over the Euro is set to become a Drachma

It appears, unsurprisingly that all the bookies have suspended their markets on the outcome of the referendum and Greek exiting the Euro after this announcement

Read the full story here


«13

Comments

  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    About time.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,713
    Second, like Greece in the negotiations.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,713
    The clock is striking midnight, but there are still eleven chimes left.

    I'll believe it when it happens.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,064
    FPT
    rcs1000 said:

    I've just heard from my contact on the German negotiating team. They are not shocked that Tsipiras called a referendum; what they are shocked at is that:

    1. He is describing a proposal that is 99% identical to the one that was sent by Greece to the troika last Sunday as a 'humiliation'.

    2. He is attempting to use the threat of a referendum to try and wring extra concessions.

    3. He had indicated that, while he was personally in favour of the proposal, he needed to get the agreement of the Greek people.

    @Indigo might very well be right that he is trying to force the ECB to force Grexit ("it's not my fault!")

    Aiui the Eurogroup had reconciled themselves to a referendum but it would be one in which the government would urge a "yes" vote. Tsipras telling the people to vote "no" really seems to have caught them by complete surprise.

    Unbelievable. Never did I think I would feel sympathy for EU technocrats but these two idiots are such bad politicians they have managed it.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,303
    The Greek foreign minister has tweeted this: "Do not forget, those who celebrate the "tricks" against Greece at the Eurogroup, that the core of the EU has a veto"
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,045
    Is it finally happening? Will AEP be vindicated?? (I seem to remember him predicting Grexit a number of times).
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    The French are apparently still saying a deal is possible tomorrow (although, bluntly, it's not clear how much influence the French really have these days).
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    Inevitable, though if the Referendum goes ahead and is a Yes Tsipras will have to resign and new elections be held to try and form a new government agreeing to a bailout. If a No Tsipras will simply confirm the Greek people have voted for Grexit anyway

    I doubt this will make the slightest difference to Osborne's cut in the 45% top tax rate, he would argue it would show the strength of the UK economy compared to the eurozone
  • john_zimsjohn_zims Posts: 3,399
    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    From the Guardian:
    Courtesy of Mega News we are now learning that Tsipras’ chat with both leaders was far from cordial. The Greek prime minister, responding to Merkel’s protestations that the referendum would ultimately boil down to a choice “between the euro and drachma” is reported to have said:

    “No it isn’t.

    This is the birthplace of democracy. We are a sovereign country and will not be told what question to pose in this referendum. The referendum wiill take place regardless of whatever the decision the Eurogroup takes.”
  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830
    What exactly is the point of the referendum? Looks like a cop-out by Tsipras and co. to me. Especially now he's been outflanked by the Eurogroup, it looks even more pointless.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,032
    The incompetence of the Greek leadership is almost beyond belief. Saying that the referendum will proceed. To what purpose ? There will by then be no offer to reject. There will be no banks. There will be no pensions. There will be no money to pay the wages of those they insisted in re-employing for no obvious purpose other than to buy votes. Is it possible that the left fantasy that government debt or borrowing does not matter will finally be demonstrated to be false and, bluntly, stupid? If so it will be Greece's biggest contribution to democracy since ancient Athens.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,546
    FPT, what a pity Socrates is no longer here to participate in the arguments over the Confederacy.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,064
    Danny565 said:

    The French are apparently still saying a deal is possible tomorrow (although, bluntly, it's not clear how much influence the French really have these days).

    That's the same French delegation that was calling the Greek offer a done deal on Tuesday. They seem desperate to support another leftist government right now given the hegemony of the right across Europe. Majority Con government here, CDU ascendency in Germany, the right coalition winning in Denmark of all places, the hits just keep coming for the left all over Europe and the French are desperate to stem the losses which means getting into bed with SYRIZA.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,032
    Sean_F said:

    FPT, what a pity Socrates is no longer here to participate in the arguments over the Confederacy.

    I rarely agreed with Socrates but frankly if even half the people on this site agreed with me it would get boring very quickly. A broad range of views is the life blood of this site but OGH is still entitled to respect.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,064
    DavidL said:

    The incompetence of the Greek leadership is almost beyond belief. Saying that the referendum will proceed. To what purpose ? There will by then be no offer to reject. There will be no banks. There will be no pensions. There will be no money to pay the wages of those they insisted in re-employing for no obvious purpose other than to buy votes. Is it possible that the left fantasy that government debt or borrowing does not matter will finally be demonstrated to be false and, bluntly, stupid? If so it will be Greece's biggest contribution to democracy since ancient Athens.

    These two are complete and utter clowns, or as malcomg would put it, carpet bagging turnips.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    The referendum has to go ahead, this cannot continue for ever, either the Greek people vote Yes to accept the deal offered so Tsipras has to go, new elections be called and a new coalition government of PASOK and New Democracy take over or else they vote No and accept their fate and inevitable Grexit, in which case the eurozone can wash their hands of them, Greece returns to the drachma and Tsipras is given a mandate for Syriza to be responsible for the future direction of Greece outside the eurozone
  • calumcalum Posts: 3,046
    Cybernatgate Alert !!

    Putting minor issues like Greece and EU reform to one side, SLAB have sent a 51 page dossier to the MSM detailing 131 offensive tweets by 46 users since 2012. I fear SLAB have made some classic errors:

    (1) Make sure your own stables are clean before pointing the finger at others. For example, Ian Smart a senior SLAB stalwart, has produced about the same number on his own:

    http://wingsoverscotland.com/friendly-help-for-kezia-dugdale/

    (2) Do your research thoroughly. For example, 45 of the tweets are only included because they use the word "traitor". I'm sure all SLAB conference attendees will be familiar with the red flag and the term "traitors sneer" in the last verse.

    (3) Seek legal advice that before publishing the dossier to ensure there no legal or Data Protection impediments.

    (4) Think through what is the strategic aims of publishing this dossier. A cynic might say, is a party which finds offence in 131 tweets, tough enough to ever form a government?

    My feeling is that Nicola has manoeuvred SLAB into a corner and you can expect some properly put together and redacted dossiers to come to light, showing that Cyberunionist abuse is just as bad, if not worse as they are more numerous and fully backed by the MSM hacks who will spend the next few days trolling anybody on SLAB's list, without a hint of irony.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,424
    HYUFD said:

    Inevitable, though if the Referendum goes ahead and is a Yes Tsipras will have to resign and new elections be held to try and form a new government agreeing to a bailout. If a No Tsipras will simply confirm the Greek people have voted for Grexit anyway

    The implication of this is that a "Yes" vote means Tsipras resigns and does not sign the agreement, and a "No" vote means Tsipras stays in post and does not sign the agreement.

    So, he's spending millions of euros on a referendum he can't organise on time to reach a conclusion he's already decided upon.

    Syriza, ladies and gentlemen, a big hand please for the stupidest d*** f**** ever to run a post-1980 Western European nation. I know it's a high bar, but he's cleared it.
  • nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    john_zims said:

    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.

    Agree totally, not a chance they will let someone leave their beloved Euro.

    This is posturing by the EU ahead of a murky compromise. If they do allow Greece to leave the whole pack of cards will come tumbling down.
  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830
    MaxPB said:

    Danny565 said:

    The French are apparently still saying a deal is possible tomorrow (although, bluntly, it's not clear how much influence the French really have these days).

    That's the same French delegation that was calling the Greek offer a done deal on Tuesday. They seem desperate to support another leftist government right now given the hegemony of the right across Europe. Majority Con government here, CDU ascendency in Germany, the right coalition winning in Denmark of all places, the hits just keep coming for the left all over Europe and the French are desperate to stem the losses which means getting into bed with SYRIZA.
    Tbf in Germany, as far as I can see the CDU aren't necessarily ''popular''; it's Merkel, and her rather moderate approach in government (she's not a massive ideologue) that is popular. The dilemma for the CDU will be once Merkel is gone. France will probably go rightwards too in 2017, although I suspect that'll be down to the sheer ineptitude of Hollande than any real fanfare for Sarkozy.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,032
    MaxPB said:

    DavidL said:

    The incompetence of the Greek leadership is almost beyond belief. Saying that the referendum will proceed. To what purpose ? There will by then be no offer to reject. There will be no banks. There will be no pensions. There will be no money to pay the wages of those they insisted in re-employing for no obvious purpose other than to buy votes. Is it possible that the left fantasy that government debt or borrowing does not matter will finally be demonstrated to be false and, bluntly, stupid? If so it will be Greece's biggest contribution to democracy since ancient Athens.

    These two are complete and utter clowns, or as malcomg would put it, carpet bagging turnips.
    I think it is shocking that you are insulting the great and intellectual Scottish turnip with the comparison. Turnips are never wilfully stupid.

    Will game theory ever recover from the association? Could be another benefit.
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    edited June 2015
    Ian Traynor ✔@traynorbrussels
    #greece oh dear, this blamegame...@dstrausskahn now seems to be having a go a @Lagarde
    Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who ran the IMF when the first Greek bailout was arranged, has published a ‘mea culpa’ about the mistakes the Fund made:

    He’s admitted that it should have pushed other eurozone countries to do more to help Greece and fought against the push for tough austerity, admitting that it also miscalculated the impact of such “pro-cyclical adjustment”.

    And while it’s too late to change that, DSK does make a case for giving Greece debt relief now - by rolling over and extending repayments due to official creditors.

    The killer line in DSK’s take on Greece is that creditors are failing to learn lessons and “seem to be repeating the mistakes”.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Good evening, everyone.

    Terrible news, for my bet on Yes in the referendum.

    Having a vote on a proposal which doesn't exist is even more stupid than the Lib Dem three line whip abstention on a referendum.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    john_zims said:

    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.

    Agree totally, not a chance they will let someone leave their beloved Euro.

    This is posturing by the EU ahead of a murky compromise. If they do allow Greece to leave the whole pack of cards will come tumbling down.
    No the opposite is now true. It could be best for the EU to allow Greece to fail.

    Case 1: The Greeks go bust and fail they'll suffer a devastating devaluation in the short term and even more austerity than ever thought imaginable. They may come out of it good in the long-term but it will take a very long time to recover. All other nations on the edge (like Portugal) stare into this abyss and step back clinging to nurse.

    Case 2: The EU folds to the Greeks and bails them out on even more generous terms. The Portugese etc look at this and think "if the Greeks get away with this behaviour, why don't we become more difficult". So too could everyone else appeal more to their own self-interest.

    Its in the interests of the EU not to cave here.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    viewcode Syriza won 37% at the election, he will only stay in office if it is a No, but if it is a No, he will have the backing of more than 50% of the Greek people for his government and for Grexit
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,303

    Tbf in Germany, as far as I can see the CDU aren't necessarily ''popular''; it's Merkel, and her rather moderate approach in government (she's not a massive ideologue) that is popular. The dilemma for the CDU will be once Merkel is gone. France will probably go rightwards too in 2017, although I suspect that'll be down to the sheer ineptitude of Hollande than any real fanfare for Sarkozy.

    I don't think it's a done deal that Sarkozy will be the candidate in the 2017 elections. Juppé polls better than him. Lagarde's IMF term will be up next year and if she's ambitious enough she could go for it.
  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830
    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    Le Pen is leading in the polls in France? I assumed that a Hollande as the socialist candidate would mean the French would opt for Sarkozy. If Front Nationale actually get elected France has gone batshit insane!
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    edited June 2015

    john_zims said:

    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.

    Agree totally, not a chance they will let someone leave their beloved Euro.

    This is posturing by the EU ahead of a murky compromise. If they do allow Greece to leave the whole pack of cards will come tumbling down.
    No the opposite is now true. It could be best for the EU to allow Greece to fail.

    Case 1: The Greeks go bust and fail they'll suffer a devastating devaluation in the short term and even more austerity than ever thought imaginable. They may come out of it good in the long-term but it will take a very long time to recover. All other nations on the edge (like Portugal) stare into this abyss and step back clinging to nurse.

    Case 2: The EU folds to the Greeks and bails them out on even more generous terms. The Portugese etc look at this and think "if the Greeks get away with this behaviour, why don't we become more difficult". So too could everyone else appeal more to their own self-interest.

    Its in the interests of the EU not to cave here.
    On the other hand, if they do cut Greece loose, there's the risk of a Lehmans-like domino effect. Huge pressure on many of the other weak Eurozone members, which means the so-called "creditor nations" have to end up stumping up more cash to restore some kind of confidence in the end, than they would if they just swallowed their pride now.
  • SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    Very surreal atmosphere in press room here in Brussels. One journalist in tears.


    Ah bless - on hearing the news, I burst out laughing...
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    edited June 2015
    viewcode said:

    HYUFD said:

    Inevitable, though if the Referendum goes ahead and is a Yes Tsipras will have to resign and new elections be held to try and form a new government agreeing to a bailout. If a No Tsipras will simply confirm the Greek people have voted for Grexit anyway

    The implication of this is that a "Yes" vote means Tsipras resigns and does not sign the agreement, and a "No" vote means Tsipras stays in post and does not sign the agreement.

    So, he's spending millions of euros on a referendum he can't organise on time to reach a conclusion he's already decided upon.

    Syriza, ladies and gentlemen, a big hand please for the stupidest d*** f**** ever to run a post-1980 Western European nation. I know it's a high bar, but he's cleared it.
    On the contrary, if its YES then someone signs the agreement and Greece gets a bail out and austerity. If its a NO then Tsipras gets to manage GrExit. Once the population have decided if they want the euro or the drachma no government is going to do something different, the question will be which government does it.

    Personally I think Tsipras has played a blinder in getting what he actually wanted, which is Greece out of the Euro with someone else getting the blame. He now has the document in the OP to show the Greek people and say "not my fault, I wasn't even allowed to the meeting"
  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830

    Tbf in Germany, as far as I can see the CDU aren't necessarily ''popular''; it's Merkel, and her rather moderate approach in government (she's not a massive ideologue) that is popular. The dilemma for the CDU will be once Merkel is gone. France will probably go rightwards too in 2017, although I suspect that'll be down to the sheer ineptitude of Hollande than any real fanfare for Sarkozy.

    I don't think it's a done deal that Sarkozy will be the candidate in the 2017 elections. Juppé polls better than him. Lagarde's IMF term will be up next year and if she's ambitious enough she could go for it.
    I think Lagarade should go for it, France appears to have very little decent options in terms of leadership at this moment in time. Personally I wouldn't be too sad if Sarkozy didn't get the nomination if as you say, Juppe polls better than him so they opt for him instead. I always found Sarkozy terribly unlikeable.
  • It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.
  • MyBurningEarsMyBurningEars Posts: 3,651

    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    Le Pen is leading in the polls in France? I assumed that a Hollande as the socialist candidate would mean the French would opt for Sarkozy. If Front Nationale actually get elected France has gone batshit insane!
    Le Pen couldn't win an election even if she tops the first round - in a run-off, too many conservative voters would vote tactically for a socialist to defeat her, and vice versa. But the fact that she could plausibly make the run-off is a serious enough indictment in itself.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    The original Le Pen made the run-off previously and it led to the biggest landslide ever. The run off could very plausibly be Marine Le Pen versus Sarkozy but if it is, Sarkozy will win a clear landslide.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Mr. Town, don't bet on it.

    Zealots will cling to their titanic dream, even as the iceberg draws near. The eurozone will last some time yet, and the EU probably decades.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,303

    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    The original Le Pen made the run-off previously and it led to the biggest landslide ever. The run off could very plausibly be Marine Le Pen versus Sarkozy but if it is, Sarkozy will win a clear landslide.
    Le Pen pere was a different kind of candidate and that time it was a total shock that he made the run-off. If Marine does the same it will not be a surprise and the tactical voting also a bit less clear cut, whether she's facing a Socialist or a Republican.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Danny565 said:

    john_zims said:

    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.

    Agree totally, not a chance they will let someone leave their beloved Euro.

    This is posturing by the EU ahead of a murky compromise. If they do allow Greece to leave the whole pack of cards will come tumbling down.
    No the opposite is now true. It could be best for the EU to allow Greece to fail.

    Case 1: The Greeks go bust and fail they'll suffer a devastating devaluation in the short term and even more austerity than ever thought imaginable. They may come out of it good in the long-term but it will take a very long time to recover. All other nations on the edge (like Portugal) stare into this abyss and step back clinging to nurse.

    Case 2: The EU folds to the Greeks and bails them out on even more generous terms. The Portugese etc look at this and think "if the Greeks get away with this behaviour, why don't we become more difficult". So too could everyone else appeal more to their own self-interest.

    Its in the interests of the EU not to cave here.
    On the other hand, if they do cut Greece loose, there's the risk of a Lehmans-like domino effect. Huge pressure on many of the other weak Eurozone members, which means the so-called "creditor nations" have to end up stumping up more cash to restore some kind of confidence in the end, than they would if they just swallowed their pride now.
    That may have been true in 2010 but its no longer true. Lehman's caused such a crisis as it was so unexpected and caught the financial world with its pants down, they weren't prepared for it.

    It would take a complete muppet to be taken by surprise by Greece failing. The other nations in Europe have had five years to build a firewall between themselves and Greece. A failure in Greece may have had domino effects five years ago but will be confined to just Greece now.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,424
    HYUFD said:

    viewcode Syriza won 37% at the election, he will only stay in office if it is a No, but if it is a No, he will have the backing of more than 50% of the Greek people for his government and for Grexit

    Thank you. But I don't believe he will interpret a "No" vote as a desire for Grexit, he will interpret it as a mandate for fresh negotiations. It's a fair point. But agreements require two people, and Tsipras's peregrinations (thank you @Plato FPT) are costing billions of Euros per day. It is in nobody's interest (ultimately not even his) to continue this farce.

    He's cost, what, 170(?) billion EUR since he came in, and he's only been in, what, three months? That is a shedload of cash: about 3 times the GDP of Wales. The weird danger is not that Germany could bankrupt Greece (it's already hugely bankrupt), but that Greece could bankrupt Germany. Far better he be tied off and cauterized now, and Eurogroup absorb the losses as best it can.

  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830

    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    Le Pen is leading in the polls in France? I assumed that a Hollande as the socialist candidate would mean the French would opt for Sarkozy. If Front Nationale actually get elected France has gone batshit insane!
    Le Pen couldn't win an election even if she tops the first round - in a run-off, too many conservative voters would vote tactically for a socialist to defeat her, and vice versa. But the fact that she could plausibly make the run-off is a serious enough indictment in itself.
    You have to wonder how badly the French political class have got things wrong, that someone Le Pen could potentially make the run-off.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    viewcode said:

    HYUFD said:

    viewcode Syriza won 37% at the election, he will only stay in office if it is a No, but if it is a No, he will have the backing of more than 50% of the Greek people for his government and for Grexit

    Thank you. But I don't believe he will interpret a "No" vote as a desire for Grexit, he will interpret it as a mandate for fresh negotiations. It's a fair point. But agreements require two people, and Tsipras's peregrinations (thank you @Plato FPT) are costing billions of Euros per day. It is in nobody's interest (ultimately not even his) to continue this farce.

    He's cost, what, 170(?) billion EUR since he came in, and he's only been in, what, three months? That is a shedload of cash: about 3 times the GDP of Wales. The weird danger is not that Germany could bankrupt Greece (it's already hugely bankrupt), but that Greece could bankrupt Germany. Far better he be tied off and cauterized now, and Eurogroup absorb the losses as best it can.

    He may want more negotiations but he's ran out of time for them and walked away. There needs to be good faith for negotiations to happen and he's ensured there is none.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,662

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
  • nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800

    john_zims said:

    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.

    Agree totally, not a chance they will let someone leave their beloved Euro.

    This is posturing by the EU ahead of a murky compromise. If they do allow Greece to leave the whole pack of cards will come tumbling down.
    No the opposite is now true. It could be best for the EU to allow Greece to fail.

    Case 1: The Greeks go bust and fail they'll suffer a devastating devaluation in the short term and even more austerity than ever thought imaginable. They may come out of it good in the long-term but it will take a very long time to recover. All other nations on the edge (like Portugal) stare into this abyss and step back clinging to nurse.

    Case 2: The EU folds to the Greeks and bails them out on even more generous terms. The Portugese etc look at this and think "if the Greeks get away with this behaviour, why don't we become more difficult". So too could everyone else appeal more to their own self-interest.

    Its in the interests of the EU not to cave here.
    Point 2 I agree with, not so point 1.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    Le Pen is leading in the polls in France? I assumed that a Hollande as the socialist candidate would mean the French would opt for Sarkozy. If Front Nationale actually get elected France has gone batshit insane!
    Le Pen couldn't win an election even if she tops the first round - in a run-off, too many conservative voters would vote tactically for a socialist to defeat her, and vice versa. But the fact that she could plausibly make the run-off is a serious enough indictment in itself.
    You have to wonder how badly the French political class have got things wrong, that someone Le Pen could potentially make the run-off.
    It's happened before. France is a messed up country.
  • FlightpathlFlightpathl Posts: 1,243
    Have I missed something Mr Eagles? Are we in the Euro? How does this affect Osborne's budget. It is not an emergency budget, it is an overdue budget. It is a 5 years overdue LD-free budget. Its more of a pre autumn statement spending revue than budget. Although the two have been considerably conflated over the years.

    As an event it ought to have considerably more impact in Scotland than in rUK.
    But having said that, lets all consider the Greek exit from the Euro when it actually happens. If.
  • Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669

    Mr. Town, don't bet on it.

    Zealots will cling to their titanic dream, even as the iceberg draws near. The eurozone will last some time yet, and the EU probably decades.

    I'm inclined to agree - the 'ever closer union' religion still has some Koolaid left in the jug. Until the religion is finally denied the nonsense and obfuscation will continue and the poor can will continue its journey down the road, propelled by painful contact with various believer's footwear.
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    "Nothing lasts forever, even the longest and most glittering reign must come to an end some day." ;)
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Mr. 1000, piffle.

    The British Galactic Empire will only end when it becomes a Universal Empire.

    In a billion years, we'll still be reminding the French of Agincourt ;)

    [On a serious note, obviously your fatal view is ultimately correct, but I think that the EU and eurozone's life expectancies are more slender than most others would say].
  • Tissue_PriceTissue_Price Posts: 9,039
    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    However there will still be an AV thread in the offing.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    However there will still be an AV thread in the offing.
    Due the following Sunday.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    rcs1000 Scotland for ever!
  • Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669
    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    But Cliff Richard will still be publishing calendars and attaining the Christmas number 1 slot.
  • GeoffMGeoffM Posts: 6,071

    A failure in Greece may have had domino effects five years ago but will be confined to just Greece now.

    And that's the great wasted opportunity for us. Time to prepare might well, unfortunately, save the EU.

    The best long term outcome for Great Britain is for the EU to burn. Literally burn in the case of Greece, Portugal, Spain etc as rioters take to the streets and their ex-countries fall to pieces. Hopefully also in Germany, France and elsewhere when people see what their leaders have signed them up to. The fantastic opportunity of Brexit will then be within our grasp.

  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    edited June 2015

    Have I missed something Mr Eagles? Are we in the Euro? How does this affect Osborne's budget. It is not an emergency budget, it is an overdue budget. It is a 5 years overdue LD-free budget. Its more of a pre autumn statement spending revue than budget. Although the two have been considerably conflated over the years.

    As an event it ought to have considerably more impact in Scotland than in rUK.
    But having said that, lets all consider the Greek exit from the Euro when it actually happens. If.

    Wait until the eurozone tries to deliver a chunk of the cost of GrExit at the door of the UK government. Probably back by some clause in a treaty we didn't read close enough.
  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830



    It's happened before. France is a messed up country.

    France must be very messed up if it can happen twice. I have to say, it makes you glad to live in this country - knowing that the equivalent - the BNP coming close to winning a GE - could never happen.
  • MyBurningEarsMyBurningEars Posts: 3,651
    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    Oddly I think that makes you count as an optimist.

    If the world is hit by one of those existential risks that linger faintly over us, there's a good chance that the UK, or some successor state to it, will have existed within the living memory of the last human to die.

    Now that's a cheery thought for a summer's Saturday evening.

  • calumcalum Posts: 3,046
    Danny565 said:

    john_zims said:

    @Casino_Royale

    'I'll believe it when it happens'

    Exactly, there will be a last minute compromise with the troika backing down, there are no limits when the entire EU ideology is at stake.

    Agree totally, not a chance they will let someone leave their beloved Euro.

    This is posturing by the EU ahead of a murky compromise. If they do allow Greece to leave the whole pack of cards will come tumbling down.
    No the opposite is now true. It could be best for the EU to allow Greece to fail.

    Case 1: The Greeks go bust and fail they'll suffer a devastating devaluation in the short term and even more austerity than ever thought imaginable. They may come out of it good in the long-term but it will take a very long time to recover. All other nations on the edge (like Portugal) stare into this abyss and step back clinging to nurse.

    Case 2: The EU folds to the Greeks and bails them out on even more generous terms. The Portugese etc look at this and think "if the Greeks get away with this behaviour, why don't we become more difficult". So too could everyone else appeal more to their own self-interest.

    Its in the interests of the EU not to cave here.
    On the other hand, if they do cut Greece loose, there's the risk of a Lehmans-like domino effect. Huge pressure on many of the other weak Eurozone members, which means the so-called "creditor nations" have to end up stumping up more cash to restore some kind of confidence in the end, than they would if they just swallowed their pride now.
    That's my big fear as well, I remember sitting watching Bloomberg with my wine (ex-Lehmans) just before the Asian markets opened and it became clear that the US had decided to let Lehmans fail - the rest is history. Suffice to say I don't think anyone is on top of the systemic impact of Greece defaulting.

    Let's hope they don't decide to pursue Sterlingization or Currency Union with the UK !!
  • GeoffMGeoffM Posts: 6,071

    HYUFD said:

    MaxPB Depends, in Spain the conservative government is not particularly popular and is likely to lose its majority in November with Podemos and Citizens United making gains. Sweden has a SDP minority government. Germany is a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. In France it is actually Marine Le Pen leading present polls, if Hollande is Socialist candidate he is likely toast, but if Valls wins the Socialist nomination he could yet win, he is tied with Sarkozy who Hollande trails badly, Le Pen could also make the run-off with either

    Le Pen is leading in the polls in France? I assumed that a Hollande as the socialist candidate would mean the French would opt for Sarkozy. If Front Nationale actually get elected France has gone batshit insane!
    Le Pen couldn't win an election even if she tops the first round - in a run-off, too many conservative voters would vote tactically for a socialist to defeat her, and vice versa. But the fact that she could plausibly make the run-off is a serious enough indictment in itself.
    You have to wonder how badly the French political class have got things wrong, that someone Le Pen could potentially make the run-off.
    I'm surprised you don't like her ... fellow socialists and all that?
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Indigo said:

    Have I missed something Mr Eagles? Are we in the Euro? How does this affect Osborne's budget. It is not an emergency budget, it is an overdue budget. It is a 5 years overdue LD-free budget. Its more of a pre autumn statement spending revue than budget. Although the two have been considerably conflated over the years.

    As an event it ought to have considerably more impact in Scotland than in rUK.
    But having said that, lets all consider the Greek exit from the Euro when it actually happens. If.

    Wait until the eurozone tries to deliver a chunk of the cost of GrExit at the door of the UK government. Probably back by some clause in a treaty we didn't read close enough.
    You really believe every conspiracy theory about the EU don't you?
  • FlightpathlFlightpathl Posts: 1,243
    GeoffM said:

    A failure in Greece may have had domino effects five years ago but will be confined to just Greece now.

    And that's the great wasted opportunity for us. Time to prepare might well, unfortunately, save the EU.

    The best long term outcome for Great Britain is for the EU to burn. Literally burn in the case of Greece, Portugal, Spain etc as rioters take to the streets and their ex-countries fall to pieces. Hopefully also in Germany, France and elsewhere when people see what their leaders have signed them up to. The fantastic opportunity of Brexit will then be within our grasp.

    What a load of oafish comments. The election result has clearly driven quite a few people over the edge in to palpable insanity.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,424
    Indigo said:

    On the contrary, if its YES then someone signs the agreement and Greece gets a bail out and austerity. If its a NO then Tsipras gets to manage GrExit. Once the population have decided if they want the euro or the drachma no government is going to do something different, the question will be which government does it.

    The timing is wrong. He loses, he resigns, a new PM appointed, he appoints a new finmin, he travels to Brussels, signs a piece of paper, Greek govt votes, Eurogroup governments vote...and already we're at the end of July. I don't see this getting done in time, tho' I'll be interested to be proven wrong
    Indigo said:

    Personally I think Tsipras has played a blinder in getting what he actually wanted, which is Greece out of the Euro with someone else getting the blame.

    I think he's genuinely appalling. If he wanted to leave the Euro, all he had to do was "Dear Eurogroup. My country will leave the Euro on 1 July 2015. Signed etc, 1 May 2015" and that would be it. No fussing, no drama, and he'd've wasted about 50billion less.

    If he want to do something without being blamed than he belongs in a psych ward, not a head of government.
  • FlightpathlFlightpathl Posts: 1,243

    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    However there will still be an AV thread in the offing.
    Only if its voted for by first past the post.
  • The_ApocalypseThe_Apocalypse Posts: 7,830
    GeoffM said:



    I'm surprised you don't like her ... fellow socialists and all that?

    I have to say, I haven't really viewed Le Pen as a socialist....my perspective on her was formed on well, other things. I thought that would be self-evident.

    Although, even as someone sympathetic to the Left & Labour, I'm not someone complete signed up to all the tenets of socialism, either. I'm more of a liberal person.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,662
    Re Grexit:

    My understanding (which may be completely incorrect, such are the quantity of rumours flying around at the moment) is that the IMF told the Eurogroup that - without the commitment of the Greek government to campaign for "Yes", they would be unable to allow a further deferment of payments.

    Therefore, on the 30th of June, Greece will officially default on its debts. This would mean that Greek banks would no longer be able to count Greek Government Bonds as collateral and would therefore become insolvent. The Eurogroup was essentially left without options.

    Is another deal possible?

    Yes. It's possible that Tispiras is able to claim some great victory regarding a future debt restructuring and will therefore announce he is campaigning for "Yes".

    Is another deal likely?

    No.

    There is enormous anger among most of Greece's "friends" that they thought a deal was on the table, and all had shaken hands. And now the deal is described as a "humiliation".

    What happens next?

    The Greek banks will almost certainly not open on Monday as they are no longer technically solvent - so cash machines will not work, and salaries will not be paid. If the Greek government has any sense, it will announce a three day bank holiday, and the emergency replacement of the the Euro with the New Drachma. It will need to pass a raft of legislation reinstituting it. This will need to cover the inevitable capital controls and the like. The Greek government will need to try and "incentivise" people to convert Euro notes and coins for New Drachma; while I think it is unlikely, it is possible there will be criminal penalties for holding Euros.

    I would estimate it will take at least another week until the banks reopen in Greece. (I hope they have plans to print New Drachma in hand. If you're going to play high stakes poker, best to be prepared if the other guy doesn't fold.)
  • franklynfranklyn Posts: 322
    Has anyone heard from Easteross? Nothing posted on his twitter since election night. I know his views not everyone's cu of tetley, but always interesting

    Hope he is OK
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    edited June 2015
    WG/TA/PT/MBA Most recent polls have Le Pen ahead in the first round on about 29-31%, though Sarkozy led 1 and Juppe 2. One CSA poll in January had Valls ahead of Juppe and Sarkozy in round 1 while Hollande trailed them both. Sarkozy is likely to win the UMP primary as he is more popular with the activists, but even if he loses there Juppe or indeed Fillon could run anyway in the first round.

    In the run-off Hollande trailed Le Pen 52-48 in a poll at the end of April, Sarkozy beat Hollande 60-40, Juppe Hollande 70-30.

    Valls trailed Sarkozy only 48-52 and Valls beat Le Pen 55-45. In a May poll Juppe beat Le Pen 67-33, Sarkozy beat Le Pen 59-41
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_French_presidential_election,_2017
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Mr. 1000, what if they don't have money-printing plans ready to go?
  • FlightpathlFlightpathl Posts: 1,243
    Indigo said:

    Have I missed something Mr Eagles? Are we in the Euro? How does this affect Osborne's budget. It is not an emergency budget, it is an overdue budget. It is a 5 years overdue LD-free budget. Its more of a pre autumn statement spending revue than budget. Although the two have been considerably conflated over the years.

    As an event it ought to have considerably more impact in Scotland than in rUK.
    But having said that, lets all consider the Greek exit from the Euro when it actually happens. If.

    Wait until the eurozone tries to deliver a chunk of the cost of GrExit at the door of the UK government. Probably back by some clause in a treaty we didn't read close enough.
    Are we in the Euro? This is a SNP ambition not a Conservative one.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,662
    viewcode said:

    I think he's genuinely appalling. If he wanted to leave the Euro, all he had to do was "Dear Eurogroup. My country will leave the Euro on 1 July 2015. Signed etc, 1 May 2015" and that would be it. No fussing, no drama, and he'd've wasted about 50billion less.

    If he want to do something without being blamed than he belongs in a psych ward, not a head of government.

    When he was first elected, he went to the IMF and asked about the possibility of Grexit. The IMF told him they would happily back him through Euro exit, but that there would continue to be conditions associated with their support.

    When he realised that Grexit (with IMF support) would not completely end austerity, he decided not to go down that route.

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,736
    "Turning a crisis into a drachma."

    Oh dear!
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,662

    Mr. 1000, what if they don't have money-printing plans ready to go?

    I don't know. It would be truly horrendous.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,424

    viewcode said:

    HYUFD said:

    viewcode Syriza won 37% at the election, he will only stay in office if it is a No, but if it is a No, he will have the backing of more than 50% of the Greek people for his government and for Grexit

    Thank you. But I don't believe he will interpret a "No" vote as a desire for Grexit, he will interpret it as a mandate for fresh negotiations. It's a fair point. But agreements require two people, and Tsipras's peregrinations (thank you @Plato FPT) are costing billions of Euros per day. It is in nobody's interest (ultimately not even his) to continue this farce.

    He's cost, what, 170(?) billion EUR since he came in, and he's only been in, what, three months? That is a shedload of cash: about 3 times the GDP of Wales. The weird danger is not that Germany could bankrupt Greece (it's already hugely bankrupt), but that Greece could bankrupt Germany. Far better he be tied off and cauterized now, and Eurogroup absorb the losses as best it can.

    He may want more negotiations but he's ran out of time for them and walked away. There needs to be good faith for negotiations to happen and he's ensured there is none.
    Amen
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,987
    viewcode Tsipras can try as hard as he wants, if he refuses the bailout deal and the Greek people back him I expect Merkel, and indeed German voters, will unsurprisingly say 'Sod Off!'
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    edited June 2015

    Danny565 said:


    No the opposite is now true. It could be best for the EU to allow Greece to fail.

    Case 1: The Greeks go bust and fail they'll suffer a devastating devaluation in the short term and even more austerity than ever thought imaginable. They may come out of it good in the long-term but it will take a very long time to recover. All other nations on the edge (like Portugal) stare into this abyss and step back clinging to nurse.

    Case 2: The EU folds to the Greeks and bails them out on even more generous terms. The Portugese etc look at this and think "if the Greeks get away with this behaviour, why don't we become more difficult". So too could everyone else appeal more to their own self-interest.

    Its in the interests of the EU not to cave here.

    On the other hand, if they do cut Greece loose, there's the risk of a Lehmans-like domino effect. Huge pressure on many of the other weak Eurozone members, which means the so-called "creditor nations" have to end up stumping up more cash to restore some kind of confidence in the end, than they would if they just swallowed their pride now.
    That may have been true in 2010 but its no longer true. Lehman's caused such a crisis as it was so unexpected and caught the financial world with its pants down, they weren't prepared for it.

    It would take a complete muppet to be taken by surprise by Greece failing. The other nations in Europe have had five years to build a firewall between themselves and Greece. A failure in Greece may have had domino effects five years ago but will be confined to just Greece now.
    Maybe. But it sounds like wishful thinking to me. Partly because there is no shortage of muppets in the financial world, the Greek stock market made several gains last week, which is bizarre given the circumstances, but there are always bulls around.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/102605156
    Paul Donovan, UBS global economist, said in a video published by the bank's research team. "However, there seems to be a belief in financial markets that if Greece were to be forced from the euro area it should be regarded as an isolated incident," he said. "This belief, seems to us, to be dangerous."...

    "But it's true once you open the possibility of exit, once the irrevocability clause is no longer credible, then if there are problems – a populist party comes to power or the growth numbers go down – then the possibility of exit is there and markets may start betting on it," Roldan Mones told CNBC.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    edited June 2015
    Mr. HYUFD, surely "Verpiss dich"? :p

    Edited extra bit: or perhaps "For you, Greeky, ze euro iz over."
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,424
    rcs1000 said:

    viewcode said:

    I think he's genuinely appalling. If he wanted to leave the Euro, all he had to do was "Dear Eurogroup. My country will leave the Euro on 1 July 2015. Signed etc, 1 May 2015" and that would be it. No fussing, no drama, and he'd've wasted about 50billion less.

    If he want to do something without being blamed than he belongs in a psych ward, not a head of government.

    When he was first elected, he went to the IMF and asked about the possibility of Grexit. The IMF told him they would happily back him through Euro exit, but that there would continue to be conditions associated with their support.

    When he realised that Grexit (with IMF support) would not completely end austerity, he decided not to go down that route.

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.
    I think you're right

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,981

    rcs1000 said:

    It looks as if is the fact that the Euro, and perhaps not even European Union are "irreversible" may at last be too plain for anyone sane to deny. If so, this is a great day for the peoples of Europe.

    Nothing is irreversible.

    The EU, the Eurozone, Russia, the United Kingdom, Islam, Christianity, humanity and the sun.

    One day, all will be gone.

    At some point in the future, the last person to utter the words "the United Kingdom" (itself many many millenia after the UK is no more) will themselves die, and with it all knowledge of what we built.
    However there will still be an AV thread in the offing.
    If it wasn't for the Greek tragedy and your and Antifrank's guest pieces, I would have run my AV thread this week.

    But i can read between the lines, you want me to run it PDQ. I shall endeavour to meet everyone's desire for an AV thread in the next 72 hours.
  • GeoffMGeoffM Posts: 6,071

    GeoffM said:

    A failure in Greece may have had domino effects five years ago but will be confined to just Greece now.

    And that's the great wasted opportunity for us. Time to prepare might well, unfortunately, save the EU.

    The best long term outcome for Great Britain is for the EU to burn. Literally burn in the case of Greece, Portugal, Spain etc as rioters take to the streets and their ex-countries fall to pieces. Hopefully also in Germany, France and elsewhere when people see what their leaders have signed them up to. The fantastic opportunity of Brexit will then be within our grasp.

    What a load of oafish comments. The election result has clearly driven quite a few people over the edge in to palpable insanity.
    I am keen to see the end of the EU.
    Why shouldn't I hope it collapses as soon and as spectacularly as possible?
  • FlightpathlFlightpathl Posts: 1,243
    Indigo said:

    viewcode said:

    HYUFD said:

    Inevitable, though if the Referendum goes ahead and is a Yes Tsipras will have to resign and new elections be held to try and form a new government agreeing to a bailout. If a No Tsipras will simply confirm the Greek people have voted for Grexit anyway

    The implication of this is that a "Yes" vote means Tsipras resigns and does not sign the agreement, and a "No" vote means Tsipras stays in post and does not sign the agreement.

    So, he's spending millions of euros on a referendum he can't organise on time to reach a conclusion he's already decided upon.

    Syriza, ladies and gentlemen, a big hand please for the stupidest d*** f**** ever to run a post-1980 Western European nation. I know it's a high bar, but he's cleared it.
    On the contrary, if its YES then someone signs the agreement and Greece gets a bail out and austerity. If its a NO then Tsipras gets to manage GrExit. Once the population have decided if they want the euro or the drachma no government is going to do something different, the question will be which government does it.

    Personally I think Tsipras has played a blinder in getting what he actually wanted, which is Greece out of the Euro with someone else getting the blame. He now has the document in the OP to show the Greek people and say "not my fault, I wasn't even allowed to the meeting"
    ??
    You need to revisit your English Comprehension classes. Its like saying Peter Bonetti played a blinder when Germany beat us 4-2 in 1970
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    rcs1000 said:

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.

    I don't think the EU would have let Greece go without them pulling out of the EU all together. The whole point is for going into the euro to be irrevocable to prevent the markets speculating on who is going to be leaving next (see the quote in my post below). Additionally isn't euro membership a condition of EU membership for countries that have not secured an opt out ?

  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Mr. M, whilst I dislike the EU and want it to end, the problem with spectacular collapse would be its explosiveness.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,424
    edited June 2015
    HYUFD said:

    viewcode Tsipras can try as hard as he wants, if he refuses the bailout deal and the Greek people back him I expect Merkel, and indeed German voters, will unsurprisingly say 'Sod Off!'

    Parenthetically, what is the German for "Sod off!"?...:-)

  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,064
    rcs1000 said:

    Re Grexit:

    My understanding (which may be completely incorrect, such are the quantity of rumours flying around at the moment) is that the IMF told the Eurogroup that - without the commitment of the Greek government to campaign for "Yes", they would be unable to allow a further deferment of payments.

    Therefore, on the 30th of June, Greece will officially default on its debts. This would mean that Greek banks would no longer be able to count Greek Government Bonds as collateral and would therefore become insolvent. The Eurogroup was essentially left without options.

    Is another deal possible?

    Yes. It's possible that Tispiras is able to claim some great victory regarding a future debt restructuring and will therefore announce he is campaigning for "Yes".

    Is another deal likely?

    No.

    There is enormous anger among most of Greece's "friends" that they thought a deal was on the table, and all had shaken hands. And now the deal is described as a "humiliation".

    What happens next?

    The Greek banks will almost certainly not open on Monday as they are no longer technically solvent - so cash machines will not work, and salaries will not be paid. If the Greek government has any sense, it will announce a three day bank holiday, and the emergency replacement of the the Euro with the New Drachma. It will need to pass a raft of legislation reinstituting it. This will need to cover the inevitable capital controls and the like. The Greek government will need to try and "incentivise" people to convert Euro notes and coins for New Drachma; while I think it is unlikely, it is possible there will be criminal penalties for holding Euros.

    I would estimate it will take at least another week until the banks reopen in Greece. (I hope they have plans to print New Drachma in hand. If you're going to play high stakes poker, best to be prepared if the other guy doesn't fold.)

    I've heard the same about the "Yes" decision. Apparently things were flying around the room at one of the delegations when Tsipras went on TV and said he would campaign for "No" having shook hands on a deal with him campaigning for a "Yes' just minutes earlier.

    As for the bonds, I'm on holiday at the moment (in Macedonia no less, just a few short hours from Greece!), do you know what the make up of domestic law bonds to foreign law bonds are for them? That, I think, is going to be a crucial factor in their default.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Mr. Indigo, for new members joining it is. Unsure of the state of play for EU members not in the eurozone but without a specific opt-out [I think they're meant to theoretically join at some point, but not sure].
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,064

    Mr. 1000, what if they don't have money-printing plans ready to go?

    I think De La Rue have probably been trying to get the Bank of Greece on the phone all evening!
  • nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    edited June 2015

    "Turning a crisis into a drachma."

    Oh dear!

    Evening John, good to have you back, hope it doesn't take too long to get over your ordeal.
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    edited June 2015

    Indigo said:

    viewcode said:

    HYUFD said:

    Inevitable, though if the Referendum goes ahead and is a Yes Tsipras will have to resign and new elections be held to try and form a new government agreeing to a bailout. If a No Tsipras will simply confirm the Greek people have voted for Grexit anyway

    The implication of this is that a "Yes" vote means Tsipras resigns and does not sign the agreement, and a "No" vote means Tsipras stays in post and does not sign the agreement.

    So, he's spending millions of euros on a referendum he can't organise on time to reach a conclusion he's already decided upon.

    Syriza, ladies and gentlemen, a big hand please for the stupidest d*** f**** ever to run a post-1980 Western European nation. I know it's a high bar, but he's cleared it.
    On the contrary, if its YES then someone signs the agreement and Greece gets a bail out and austerity. If its a NO then Tsipras gets to manage GrExit. Once the population have decided if they want the euro or the drachma no government is going to do something different, the question will be which government does it.

    Personally I think Tsipras has played a blinder in getting what he actually wanted, which is Greece out of the Euro with someone else getting the blame. He now has the document in the OP to show the Greek people and say "not my fault, I wasn't even allowed to the meeting"
    ??
    You need to revisit your English Comprehension classes. Its like saying Peter Bonetti played a blinder when Germany beat us 4-2 in 1970
    You need to pay attention a bit more. Tsipras and Varoufakis never wanted to be in the euro, and have always wanted Greece to leave the euro. They changed their policy just before the last Greece election because it wasn't playing well with the voters. Nothing would please them more than being able to leave the euro and blame someone else.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,981

    "Turning a crisis into a drachma."

    Oh dear!

    It was done to lift your spirits after your difficult day yesterday.

    Pizza soon ?
  • Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669

    Mr. 1000, what if they don't have money-printing plans ready to go?

    Call Xerox?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,981
    Is it wrong I want a euro crisis in Italy so I can segue in lots of subtle puns and classical history references.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395

    Very surreal atmosphere in press room here in Brussels. One journalist in tears.


    Ah bless - on hearing the news, I burst out laughing...

    In tears over a currency? Interesting.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,064
    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.

    I don't think the EU would have let Greece go without them pulling out of the EU all together. The whole point is for going into the euro to be irrevocable to prevent the markets speculating on who is going to be leaving next (see the quote in my post below). Additionally isn't euro membership a condition of EU membership for countries that have not secured an opt out ?

    It was available to them early this year just after the election. The IMF went to the Greeks privately and basically offered them Grexit on a silver platter in return for continued austerity. Grexident puts the Euro at risk, am orderly Grexit doesn't. An orderly exit has always been seen as the lesser of two evils at the IMF and it was available to the Greeks in 2010 and early this year.
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    edited June 2015
    MaxPB said:

    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.

    I don't think the EU would have let Greece go without them pulling out of the EU all together. The whole point is for going into the euro to be irrevocable to prevent the markets speculating on who is going to be leaving next (see the quote in my post below). Additionally isn't euro membership a condition of EU membership for countries that have not secured an opt out ?

    It was available to them early this year just after the election. The IMF went to the Greeks privately and basically offered them Grexit on a silver platter in return for continued austerity. Grexident puts the Euro at risk, am orderly Grexit doesn't. An orderly exit has always been seen as the lesser of two evils at the IMF and it was available to the Greeks in 2010 and early this year.
    It isn't in the gift of the IMF though.

    Also see
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/16/eurozone-greece-mersch-idUSL5N0Z23T420150616
    Membership of the euro zone is irreversible and leaving the single currency is not foreseen in the European Union's treaty, a top European Central Bank official said on Tuesday.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,045
    Indigo said:

    MaxPB said:

    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.

    I don't think the EU would have let Greece go without them pulling out of the EU all together. The whole point is for going into the euro to be irrevocable to prevent the markets speculating on who is going to be leaving next (see the quote in my post below). Additionally isn't euro membership a condition of EU membership for countries that have not secured an opt out ?

    It was available to them early this year just after the election. The IMF went to the Greeks privately and basically offered them Grexit on a silver platter in return for continued austerity. Grexident puts the Euro at risk, am orderly Grexit doesn't. An orderly exit has always been seen as the lesser of two evils at the IMF and it was available to the Greeks in 2010 and early this year.
    It isn't in the gift of the IMF though.
    They can offer to support them through the process.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,968
    Mr. Eagles, Greece is just as classical as the Roman Empire.

    Don't forget the Aetolian League inviting in the Romans to help fight off Philip V of Macedon.
  • nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800

    Indigo said:

    viewcode said:

    HYUFD said:

    Inevitable, though if the Referendum goes ahead and is a Yes Tsipras will have to resign and new elections be held to try and form a new government agreeing to a bailout. If a No Tsipras will simply confirm the Greek people have voted for Grexit anyway

    The implication of this is that a "Yes" vote means Tsipras resigns and does not sign the agreement, and a "No" vote means Tsipras stays in post and does not sign the agreement.

    So, he's spending millions of euros on a referendum he can't organise on time to reach a conclusion he's already decided upon.

    Syriza, ladies and gentlemen, a big hand please for the stupidest d*** f**** ever to run a post-1980 Western European nation. I know it's a high bar, but he's cleared it.
    On the contrary, if its YES then someone signs the agreement and Greece gets a bail out and austerity. If its a NO then Tsipras gets to manage GrExit. Once the population have decided if they want the euro or the drachma no government is going to do something different, the question will be which government does it.

    Personally I think Tsipras has played a blinder in getting what he actually wanted, which is Greece out of the Euro with someone else getting the blame. He now has the document in the OP to show the Greek people and say "not my fault, I wasn't even allowed to the meeting"
    ??
    You need to revisit your English Comprehension classes. Its like saying Peter Bonetti played a blinder when Germany beat us 4-2 in 1970
    3-2 and Ramsey should never have taken Bobby Charlton and thus freed up Beckenbauer.
  • IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966
    edited June 2015
    RobD said:

    Indigo said:

    MaxPB said:

    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.

    I don't think the EU would have let Greece go without them pulling out of the EU all together. The whole point is for going into the euro to be irrevocable to prevent the markets speculating on who is going to be leaving next (see the quote in my post below). Additionally isn't euro membership a condition of EU membership for countries that have not secured an opt out ?

    It was available to them early this year just after the election. The IMF went to the Greeks privately and basically offered them Grexit on a silver platter in return for continued austerity. Grexident puts the Euro at risk, am orderly Grexit doesn't. An orderly exit has always been seen as the lesser of two evils at the IMF and it was available to the Greeks in 2010 and early this year.
    It isn't in the gift of the IMF though.
    They can offer to support them through the process.
    See below. They can support it, the EU and the ECB would not permit it, and the treaties don't allow for it.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,774

    Mr. HYUFD, surely "Verpiss dich"? :p

    Edited extra bit: or perhaps "For you, Greeky, ze euro iz over."

    Hau ab.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,045
    Indigo said:

    MaxPB said:

    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    I think he made a terrible, terrible error. The Greeks would have been far better served by a sensible - IMF backed - exit from the Euro. Instead they are likely to do it in the very worst way possible: a disorganised default that steals the savings of millions.

    I don't think the EU would have let Greece go without them pulling out of the EU all together. The whole point is for going into the euro to be irrevocable to prevent the markets speculating on who is going to be leaving next (see the quote in my post below). Additionally isn't euro membership a condition of EU membership for countries that have not secured an opt out ?

    It was available to them early this year just after the election. The IMF went to the Greeks privately and basically offered them Grexit on a silver platter in return for continued austerity. Grexident puts the Euro at risk, am orderly Grexit doesn't. An orderly exit has always been seen as the lesser of two evils at the IMF and it was available to the Greeks in 2010 and early this year.
    It isn't in the gift of the IMF though.

    Also see
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/16/eurozone-greece-mersch-idUSL5N0Z23T420150616
    Membership of the euro zone is irreversible and leaving the single currency is not foreseen in the European Union's treaty, a top European Central Bank official said on Tuesday.
    Lol. Calling something irreversible doesn't make it so.
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