“One of the first things we are going to do is cancel all the conditions of the bailout programme”. Gabriel Sakellaridis, Syriza #newsnight
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) May 8, 2012
The outcome of the Greek election “was not as good as it should be”, according to German MP Ralph Brinkhaus on #newsnight
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) May 8, 2012
The far-right Golden Dawn party [above: Golden Dawn candidate Giorgos Germanis] is set to win 7% of the parliamentary vote, according to early projections, as Greeks punished the traditionally dominant parties who backed harsh austerity measures tied to debt-relief agreements.
Golden Dawn. Aw. That sounds hopeful.
The party’s supporters, routinely seen intimidating immigrants in run-down parts of the capital, wear black shirts, and its emblems resemble Nazi insignia. But [Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos] Michaloliakos has rejected the neo-Nazi label widely used for his party, stressing that it is staunchly nationalist.
Referring to immigrants, Golden Dawn’s campaign slogan in television ads was “let’s rid this country of the stench”.
Oh.
Golden Dawn: leader of far-right party lashes out at Greece’s ‘traitors’ (Guardian)
Confirmation from Bloomberg about the deal Greece did with Goldman Sachs in 2001. Former Fine Gael-appointed Attorney General Peter Sutherland, a vocal opponent of burning the bondholders, has been chairman of Goldman Sachs International since 1995
On the day the 2001 deal was struck, the government owed the bank about 600 million euros ($793 million) more than the 2.8 billion euros it borrowed, said Spyros Papanicolaou, who took over the country’s debt-management agency in 2005.
By then, the price of the transaction, a derivative that disguised the loan and that Goldman Sachs persuaded Greece not to test with competitors, had almost doubled to 5.1 billion euros, he said.
Papanicolaou and his predecessor, Christoforos Sardelis, revealing details for the first time of a contract that helped Greece mask its growing sovereign debt to meet European Union requirements, said the country didn’t understand what it was buying and was ill-equipped to judge the risks or costs.
Scenes from last night’s rioting in Greece: the worst yet. 80,000 demonstrate in Athens, 20,000 in Thessaloniki, running battles, arson, tear gas, historic buildings set alight.
Coming soon: austerity.
GALLERY: Greece Riots Photos: Athens Burns Following Mass Protests (Huffington Post)
The leader of one of Greece’s coalition parties says he cannot vote for the bailout deal
— Paul Cunningham (@RTENewsPaulC) February 10, 2012
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Ireland will seek to take advantage of any “arrangement” that Greece agrees with the European Central Bank on the country’s debt, as the government seeks help refinancing the bailout of the former Anglo Irish Bank Corp., Finance Minister Michael Noonan said.
“There’s a suggestion that there might be some arrangement made with the ECB,” Noonan said in an interview yesterday with Dublin-based broadcaster Today FM when questioned about Greece. “If that happens we’ll be watching it very closely and we’ll try to avail of that.”
Oh?
Irish Will Try to Make Use of Any ECB-Greek Accord, Noonan Says (Bloomberg, 9th Feb)
On Today FM two days ago, the Minister referred to the possibility of an ECB “arrangement” for Greece and said “we’ll try to avail of that as well” if such a scheme went ahead.
Asked about such remarks, Mr Noonan said people had taken liberty to quote him as saying he might seek similar arrangements for Ireland as might be made for Greece but he insisted that was not what he said or meant. “What I did say yesterday was that we were negotiating an alternative to the promissory note and we will be watching very carefully the elements of the Greek programme to see if there was flexibility in the ECB.
“But under no circumstances was I saying that we’d be looking for something that Greece may get. I was simply saying that it might give us an opportunity to advance the separate negotiations that are ongoing on the promissory note.”
Ah.
Greek deal not related to Irish case, says Noonan (Irish Times, 10th Feb)
GERMANY HAS confirmed it wants an EU-appointed “budget commissioner” sent to Greece with powers to override its government’s budget policy.
Berlin’s demand would also apply to Ireland and any other bailout recipient that consistently missed the targets set out in its rescue plans, a well-placed European source said yesterday.The source recognised that Ireland’s bailout was on track but said Berlin was anxious to avoid any repeat of the Greek situation, where the authorities have repeatedly failed to implement promised reforms.
Greece is resisting the pressure from Germany. “Anyone who puts a nation before the dilemma of ‘economic assistance or national dignity’ ignores some key historical lessons,” said finance minister Evangelos Venizelos.
The prospect of an Irish referendum to endorse Europe’s new fiscal treaty hangs in the balance as EU leaders make a final push today for a pact to toughen the enforcement of budget rules.
At issue now for the Government is the principle of adopting an international treaty, which will impose binding obligations on the Dáil and Seanad, without the consent of the people.
Berlin Seeks Enforcement Powers Over Greece On Budget Policy (Irish Times)
