Eurozone will collapse...

[Alan Fry]

Originally Posted by Hugh

You may get a different answer if you ask the Normans, the Saxons, and the Vikings - and the Romans managed it for nearly 400 years.....

The Romans left and the Normans, the Saxons, and the Vikings became "British"

[Osem]

How 'magic' made Greek debt disappear before it joined the euro

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16834815

Greece is at the heart of the ongoing eurozone crisis, but is past sleight of hand by Greek statisticians to blame for the country's current financial meltdown?

"We used to call him the magician, because he could make everything disappear.

"He made inflation disappear. And then he made the deficit disappear," recalls Greek economist Miranda Xafa.

'Magic' made all the more 'realistic' because it was what the Eurocrats wanted to see/hear....

The banks are certainly culpable in large part for the mess we're in but what about the politicians whose singleminded fixation with a European superstate led them to overlook what was staring them in the face because it was expedient to do so?

[Stuart]

Well, on the News Quiz on Radio 4, they suggested that maybe Harry Redknapp's dog should be advising Greece.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Well, on the News Quiz on Radio 4, they suggested that maybe Harry Redknapp's dog should be advising Greece.

Nah it'll be far too busy auditing the European Commission's financial accounts...

http://www.civitas.org.uk/wordpress/...secutive-year/

[Osem]

The Greek people have been pushed to the limit by austerity measures demanded by the EU and IMF, the country's public order minister says.

Christos Papoutsis said Greece had made "superhuman" efforts to comply, and the people "can't take any more".

Eurozone chiefs cancelled a meeting with Greek officials earlier, demanding further cuts and reassurances.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17037267

This isn't looking good. There's a whole lot of serious resentment building up in Greece and something is going to give.

[Alan Fry]

Originally Posted by Osem

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17037267

This isn't looking good. There's a whole lot of serious resentment building up in Greece and something is going to give.

The eurozone should offer the Bailout without Greece having to make cuts, just to (maybe) pay the money back!

---------- Post added at 10:43 ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 ----------

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

IMO the best thing for Greece would be to leave the Euro and devalue it's own currancy. The EU politicians will never consent to that and will find some shabby way to string out the final agonising collapse of their vanity project, the nature of which will depend upon the German position: Are the people of the Rhineland really prepared stump up their hard earned cash so that southern Europe can carry on their Spanish practices or will they change government?

Though we'll get some collateral damge from this at least we're not actually iinside the building that's on fire.

They will end up electing the Communist Party of Greece into power!

Originally Posted by Osem

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17037267

This isn't looking good. There's a whole lot of serious resentment building up in Greece and something is going to give.

Word amongst the talking heads is that a number of EZ countries, led by Germany, have now decided that Greece is a basket case and has to leave the Euro. The ever-tougher demands being placed on Greece are not supposed to be met; they are designed to force the issue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...catharsis.html

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Chris

Word amongst the talking heads is that a number of EZ countries, led by Germany, have now decided that Greece is a basket case and has to leave the Euro. The ever-tougher demands being placed on Greece are not supposed to be met; they are designed to force the issue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...catharsis.html

I can quite believe that. It's a pity these people weren't a tad more diligent when they allowed Greece to join the Euro in the first place.

[Alan Fry]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

They are a democracy, at least last time I looked, they can elect any party they see fit.



(From Chris' link)

The Communist Party of Greece is the only major party no to be a part of the poltical alliance that runs the nation!

[Dai]

Originally Posted by Osem

I can quite believe that. It's a pity these people weren't a tad more diligent when they allowed Greece to join the Euro in the first place.

Au contraire. I believe that the Euro elite knew exactly what they were doing.
Greece is the weak link which will be the first practice run at demolishing a democracy and putting EU placemen in the key positions.

The rest come later..

[Osem]

Originally Posted by DaiNasty

Au contraire. I believe that the Euro elite knew exactly what they were doing.
Greece is the weak link which will be the first practice run at demolishing a democracy and putting EU placemen in the key positions.

The rest come later..

You may well be right but that doesn't alter the fact that it's a pity for all of us that Greece was allowed into the Euro in the first place. I too believe the Eurocrats turned turned a blind eye to the financial realities of the Greek economy because it suited their purpose to do so.

[jamiefrost]

Allowing Greece and other weaker economies to enter the euro has helped Germany's continued growth. On its own Germany's would not have grown as much, I don't believe their exports would be anywhere near as strong.

j

[AndyCambs]

Someone in the Metro paper this week wrote that if Germany had paid the reparations debt after the war to Greece, then it wouldn't be in the position it was now.

I'm not sure it's possible to leave the Euro without all the others leaving too. If you had Euros and your country was going to devalue it's currency, then you'd move your money into a safer and better return account - somewhere in the EuroZone - so more money leaves Greece and it's worse off.

[Alan Fry]

What Germany should do is drop the Austerity requirement and just give the bailout anyway, just tell Greece to try to pay the money back in the long term!

They tried that a couple of times before - didn't seem to work.....

It (Greece) was given 110bn euros of bailout loans in May 2010 to help it get through the crisis - and then in July 2011, it was earmarked to receive another 109bn euros.

But that still was not considered enough.

And so, in October 2011, the eurozone got banks to agree to a 50% "haircut" on their Greek holdings, alongside an enhanced 130bn-euro bailout.

Since then, the economic situation in Greece has deteriorated further and the deal now on the table involves an even bigger debt write-off than previously consented to by the banks.