Tsipras Tells Voters Rejecting Austerity Will Yield Better Deal

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

by Jenny ParisRebecca ChristieTheophilos Argitis
July 1, 2015 — 6:56 AM EDT
Updated on July 1, 2015 — 10:59 AM EDT

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for voters to reject austerity measures in Sunday’s referendum to help end a standoff with creditors as the country gets a taste of financial meltdown.

It took a third day of capital controls, rationing pensions and the expiry of Greece’s bailout for the government in Athens to say it’s willing to accept his adversaries’ latest offer as a basis for compromise. The looming vote remains a stumbling block, along with disagreements over pensions, spending and taxes.

“Come Monday, the Greek government will be at the negotiating table after the referendum, with better terms for the Greek people,” Tsipras said in a Twitter message posted as he spoke on national television. “A popular verdict is much stronger than the will of a government.”

The Greek premier spoke following a rhetorical exchange with his chief antagonists over a bid to revive negotiations. While Tsipras signaled he’s prepared to compromise on the starting point for talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s dominant leader, refused to engage

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-01/greece-bailout-compromise-bid-faces-resistance-on-trust-deficit

[DetlefK]

1. That evil witch Merkel has the gall to respect Tsipras' wish for a referendum!

First he says that he wants a referendum for the greek people about what they want in the negotiations.
And then she says that there won't be negotiations until the greek people have spoken on what they want in the negotiations!

This is outright fucking evil! Eeeeeeeeeeeevil I say!!!

[Fred Sanders]

3. Negotiations effecting the public of an entire nation being forced by Greece to be held out in public is worthy of praise, not sarcasm.

[turbinetree]

8. Merkle

is really a tool for Goldman Scams incorporated.

http://wallstreetonparade.com/2015/06/goldman-sachs-doesnt-have-clean-hands-in-greece-crisis/

http://www.risk.net/risk-magazine/feature/1498135/revealed-goldman-sachs-mega-deal-greece

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asBNXSLtlN9E


She hates pensions with a passion, so she thinks that nobody should have any and she talks out of both sides of her mouth just like Thatcher and Reagan (both hypocrites.
She is a true right wing libertarian

[DetlefK]

9. That's odd. For a second you sounded like someone who knows jack-shit about german politicians.

[turbinetree]

11. That's odd-------------- and by the way thanks for the compliment

why does Merkle insists on going after the Greek pensions, right along with the EU and the IMF.
And by the way she is considered a conservative:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/angela-merkel-conservatives-ideological-crisis

[DetlefK]

12. There are conservatives and there are conservatives.

What passes for Conservative in the US passes for ridiculous right-wing extremist in Germany.
What passes for Conservative in Germany passes for Democrat in the US.
What passes for Social-Democrat in Germany passes for "not-a-chance-in-hell-he-will-ever-win-the-democratic-primary" in the US.

[geek tragedy]

2. So, why is he making offers today based on the proposal

he's asking voters to reject on Sunday?

If he's not planning to return to negotiations until Monday, why is he making offers now?

A moveable feast, that Mr. Bean is.

[Fred Sanders]

4. Negotiations. It is a thing.

[geek tragedy]

5. But, he's not even clear about whether he is negotiating.

What's his plan if his team wins the 'no' vote and the Troika tell him to go pound sand?

He'll have to leave the Euro and start printing drachmas. Or adopt the rouble. Or something.

[Fred Sanders]

6. What is being negotiated and remains unclear is clear enough.

"It took a third day of capital controls, rationing pensions and the expiry of Greece’s bailout for the government in Athens to say it’s willing to accept his adversaries’ latest offer as a BASIS* for compromise.

- The looming vote remains a stumbling block, along with disagreements over pensions, spending and taxes."

[geek tragedy]

7. the most critical thing a negotiator needs is the ability to deliver on his commitments.

By scheduling that referendum, Tsipras pretty much convinced the rest of the Eurozone that he was just playing them, and that there was no way he would/could implement any agreement they did reach.

Merkel et al are playing extreme hardball.

Greek banks will be closed the day after the referendum. How long will they remain closed before people realize that his promises re; the referendum didn't come true.

[Jack Rabbit]

10. It's going to be a rough ride for the Greek people either way

If I were a Greek, I would vote No (against austerity). Perhaps this means they'll be thrown out of the Euro Zone on the spot, but that would just fine.

If I were the Greek justice minister, I would issue arrest warrants for Lucas Papademos and "Pretty Boy Lloyd" Blankfein the responsible (if that word can be used to describe a Wall Street banker nowadays) party at Goldman Sachs, who conspired to hide Greece's liabilities from creditors in order to secure the loans Greece cannot repay. That was fraud, and the Greek people were not party to that fraud and should not suffer for it.

Let the creditors collect from Goldman Sachs.

[Surya Gayatri]

13. "Perhaps this means they'll be thrown out of the Euro Zone on the spot, but that would just fine..?"

With all due respect, your knee-jerk, anti-Europe rhetoric is NOT mirrored by the majority of the Greek electorate.

Poll Shows 75% of Greeks Want to Stay in Euro Zone

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/04/30/poll-shows-75-of-greeks-want-to-stay-in-euro-zone/

A new poll after the television interview of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras shows that the vast majority of Greeks want to stay in the euro zone and are against snap elections, while half of them worry that Greece may leave the euro.

The survey that was conducted by GPO for Mega television shows that 75.6 percent of the Greek population want to stay in the euro at any cost and 72.2 percent are against the idea of going to elections in June if the country fails to come to an agreement with creditors over the Greek debt. Members of the government have suggested to go to polls if there is no “honorable agreement” with lenders.

[pampango]

14. Tsipras knows most Greeks don't want to leave the Euro much less the EU so he has made clear

repeatedly that a "NO" vote will not result in Greece dropping the Euro. I suppose he could have some secret plan to do just that despite what the public wants, but he has never said so.

[Surya Gayatri]

15. The question is: "Will the euro-zone drop Greece?"

Other small nations (i.e. Slovakia, the Baltic States, etc.) have sacrificed a great deal to comply with euro regulations.

They've REALLY had to tightened their belts in order to conform to the debt vs. GDP ratio requirements for euro members.

They're fed up with giving Greece a free ride.

[geek tragedy]

16. he needs a massive bailout to remain in the Euro.

He doesn't have the power to keep Greece in the Euro.

He needs the ECB's help to do that.

So, the whole sovereignty thing is something of a moot point.

[FrodosPet]

19. The Greek people might have crushing poverty, hyperinflation, diminished access to medicine

Their currency will make Bitcoins look solid. But at least they won't have austerity.

for the people of Greece.

[bemildred]

17. Bernie Sanders Blasts Troika for 'Abysmal Failure' of Greek Austerity

Describing the austerity policies that European creditors have imposed on Greece as an "abysmal failure," progressive presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Wednesday chastised the so-called Troika—the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the European Commission—for inflicting severe "economic pain and suffering" on the Greek people.

"It is unacceptable that the International Monetary Fund and European policymakers have refused to work with the Greek government on a sensible plan to improve its economy and pay back its debt," Sanders said in an exclusive statement to the Huffington Post. "At a time of grotesque wealth inequality, the pensions of the people in Greece should not be cut even further to pay back some of the largest banks and wealthiest financiers in the world."

It is not the first time Sen. Sanders (I-Vt.) has made such remarks. "I think it is absolutely imperative that the ECB, the Troika in Europe, work with the Greek government—not in an austerity program which punishes people who are already suffering," he told CNBC in February.

And in a letter sent earlier this year, Sanders called on Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to use her influence with the ECB to push for an end to the Greek austerity policies that have caused economic recession.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/02/bernie-sanders-blasts-troika-abysmal-failure-greek-austerity

[bemildred]

18. IMF: Greece needs 36B euros more from EU

WASHINGTON: Greece needs 50 billion more euros ($55 billion) over the next three years, including 36 billion euros from EU lenders, to stabilize its finances even under existing creditor plans, the IMF said Thursday.

In a new report on Greece's financing needs, the International Monetary Fund also cut the country's economic growth prospects for this year to zero percent from 2.5 percent forecast in April.

That growth estimate was made before Greece broke off talks with official creditors last weekend and ordered capital controls and its banks shut for a week.

The IMF's new "preliminary draft" debt sustainability analysis for the country said the changes in Greek policies and its financial outlook since early 2015 - roughly covering the period that the anti-austerity Syriza party and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras have led the country - "have resulted in a substantial increase in financing needs."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2015/Jul-02/304839-imf-greece-needs-36b-euros-more-from-eu.ashx

[bemildred]

20. Greek PM Tsipras seeks 30% debt haircut, grace period for 20 years

ATHENS (AFP, REUTERS) - Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday spelt out debt restructuring demands he wants international creditors to adopt, ahead of a weekend referendum he hopes will strengthen his position in negotiations.

In a television address, Mr Tsipras called for "a 30 percent haircut off the Greek debt" and "a 20-year grace period" for the rest, to ensure "the viability of debt" in Greece, which currently stands at nearly 180 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

He also said an IMF analysis showing Greece's debt is unsustainable justifies his government's decision to reject an aid package from creditors that offered no debt relief.

In the address to the nation, on the final day of campaigning ahead of Sunday's referendum, Mr Tsipras renewed his appeal to Greeks to vote against the bailout package and say'no' to blackmail and ultimatums.

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/greek-pm-tsipras-seeks-30-debt-haircut-grace-period-for-20-years