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  • Proffesor,
    I just read that the EIB is going to add a “currency change” clause in its future loan contracts with Greek firms and any other country’s firms that are going through “rescue programs” such as Ireland and Portugal.The article says that EIB is planning to add these clauses in all EZ members in the future.Do you have any further info on that?And could you comment on wheter this means/changes anything regarding a Greek (or Irish,Portugese etc) euro exit ?

    • I cant understand this move though.As always, its a move that will rather disturb the markets than calm them down.And given that the EIB is not even as “independent” as the ECB is meant to be,(its board is comprised by the 27 ministers of finance) it doesnt make any sense to me.

    • “Preparing for the euro’s end. Throughout Europe.”

      Finally! Looking forward to live on a free continent that is not run by socialist central planners!

      But spending all these soon worthless Euros is exhausting! Guess I have to buy a nice used Porsche 911 to switch paper into hard assets 🙂

    • @ Crossover

      Not really. Preparing for the euro’s end is not a fundamental theme for the markets. Not yet. Not without data that affect medium to short-term acts. They can prepare for whatever they want to. The expectations of the markets don’t go that far away in outer space. And even if the markets react with out reality checks ,it would only be short-term noise. I can prepare for the end of the world and show my actions to everybody ,but only a handfull of people will react stressfully only from the fact of the preparations and without data that the world ends.

      On the contrary ,even if it is time to act – react ,people [markets] will delay.
      We are all a bunch of loonies.

    • @Dimitri

      I understand your point.Obviously my argument is missing what you call “data that the world ends” but as i’ve previously said, lets not forget who started this issue.Its the EIB whose board is comprised by the 27 ministers of Finance.I can only remind you how Papandreou and Papakonstantinou caused the spreads to soar just by speaking publicly.

      Btw, wouldn’t it be interesting to see what happens to 10Y bonds of the rest of the ISPG once EIB announces the implementation of this clause to loans given to firms from these countries?10Y are considered as a benchmark for long term expectations.

    • Crossover:

      For the first paragraph, all these are past and had their sentimental reactions already. While they do constitute a historical benchmark ,the sentimental intensity has diminished. Now problems in general are a common theme and reactions are smoother. Analysis of the facts however has to do with relative juxtaposition of the past with the present and expectations ,which brings us to the second paragraph.

      Absolutely right. We have to see.

      Subjective opinion:
      Yet again ,although we can never ever know 100% how and what will affect the weird nature of the markets ,i have the sense that ,because of the regularity of the stupidity of this “new” reality ,capital will be more prepared.
      I just do not see disturbance ,because of conservatism. Risk on and risk off moves of the markets have become constantly calmer. Something totally out of this world must take place for disturbance. Positive[white swan] or negative[black swan]. It can happen ofcourse. Let’s hope it doesn’t.

  • Since, this is a special day for me and because I am soon to depart from this blog here is a little parting wisdom to be remembered by.

    I have endured more than a year of Minotaurs, Ants and Grasshoppers and I have some good and bad news for you, the blog audience.

    The good news is that our present malady has already been identified a long time ago ( 2500 years ago to be exact) by none other than Plato. The bad news is we seem to be shifting from a condition of an unjust state known as oligarchy to an even worse condition known as democracy (advocated by Yanis among others). And there is worse to come. Here is how the situation is described by the master and I have nothing to add except admiration for the master’s skill – pay very close attention to the symptoms of each imperfect condition:

    Socrates argues that there are four main types of unjust states: timocracy, oligarchy (plutocracy), democracy, and tyranny (despotism). Socrates says that timocracy is the closest to the Ideal State that we have thus far experienced; the others descend in value as they are listed.

    We have already in the conversation discovered a just man and a just state; we shall now determine four types of unjust men corresponding to four unjust states. By determining these types, we shall be able to determine why it is better to be just than unjust.

    We are to imagine that our ideal (just) state is slowly decaying and falling into ruin, and that it proceeds from good to bad, worsening as it falls to the worst form of government, despotism. We may begin by examining timocracy and the timocratic man.

    Socrates descries government by timocracy (from timé, honor) in Sparta and in Crete, where the military was in power (kratos) and honor and ambition were highly valued.

    A given state seems always to fall into ruin because people in power disagree, quarrel among themselves, and come to violence. Theoretically, this situation might come about because a ruler could have made mistaken “marriage matches” at a state-marriage festival, thus producing inferior children with the wrong “mix” of metals flowing through their veins (see the Myth of Metals, discussed in Book III). Some of these children, although inferior, might eventually come to power as rulers, but they would lack the character aptitudes for good rule. These rulers will lack wisdom; they will become ambitious and desirous of money and property; they will prefer the comforts of private lives to the welfare of the state. Their level of intellect will decline; they will value honor and ambition over wisdom. For them, reason will no longer prevail; no matter if they be courageous, they will possess only the intellectual attributes of auxiliaries. Such rulers will be unable to secure justice for the state and its citizenry.

    The timocratic man will value physical exploits, and he will be courageous and ambitious. When young, he might not care for money, but as he ages, he will become avaricious, and he will be unable to maintain his spiritual balance. He will become unreasonable and no longer in control of himself.

    Oligarchy is a society in which the rich are in control; the wealthy are extremely wealthy and the poor quite poverty-stricken. The rich will not be able to sate their desire for more and more wealth; for them the love of money will overtake their desire for honor. The erstwhile timocracy thus declines to oligarchy.

    In this oligarchy, the rulers will be chosen for their wealth alone. Money in and of itself does not ensure a good political atmosphere; in fact, in such a state, the gap between the rich and the poor will be so wide that the two classes (rich and poor) will be actively antagonistic to one another. Eventually, the rich will become profligate, simply getting and spending money, in no way of any service to the state; the poor will likely become beggars or criminals, an impediment to the state. Thus we perceive the second kind of unjust state.

    We may imagine, Socrates says, a timocratic man, say a great general, who suffers major defeats in battle, so that when he comes home from the war he is deprived of his rights and property and is perhaps driven into exile. His son, the oligarchic man, will see what has happened to the father; the son will live in fear of the same thing happening to himself, and his great fear will be that of being penniless. He will have lost his inheritance, so he will have to work arduously for his sustenance, and money will come to dominate him. His existence will probably become miserly; he will not commit impulsive acts, and he may appear to be a reasonable person, but his respectability is predicated upon his fear of becoming impoverished. Such a man is not controlled by his reason or his spirit. The love of money drives him.

    Socrates now further rehearses the decline of the ideal state by showing how an oligarchy might degenerate into a democracy. The enormously wealthy people in a declining oligarchy will probably lend out money to the poor at exorbitant rates of interest. The debtors will spend and spend; they will be encouraged to borrow and borrow. They will become bankrupt and will see the rich as their mortal enemies, and they will accomplish the violent overthrow of the government and enlist the aid of their impoverished fellows. Thus is an ancient democracy accomplished.

    In such a democratic state, everyone is more or less equally free of any responsibility to anyone else, including service to the state. No one is obliged to give orders; no one is obliged to take orders; no justice can be respected or meted out. Rulers will serve at the behest of what Socrates has called the “great beast”; political platforms will become popularity contests. A kind of mob-rule becomes the order of the day.

    Although the oligarchic man is able to control himself to the degree that he can maintain an aura of respectability, he is still driven by money, and he will be unable to raise his son, the democratic man, well, instilling in him the proper moral values. Although the son may not even respect money, he will probably not respect anything else; he will become shiftless, kind of a reed in the wind, unable to control his desires, which will probably fluctuate wildly. Lacking any ability to discern differences in appetite, he will probably live solely for the moment, and he will be rudderless. His will be a life without order.

    If oligarchy is greedy for money, so is democracy greedy for absolute freedom; it recognizes no authority whatever, neither familial nor militaristic nor academic. How does a tyranny come about? The erstwhile democrats in power will continue to placate the great beast of the populace, and they will, as is their wont, rob all the rich folk. The rich will complain in the Assembly; the democrats will charge them with being oligarchs and reactionaries. Then the great beast will elect a popular and violent leader to do something, and he will start killing people, and he will become feared and extremely powerful. And he will become fearful, require bodyguards, build a private army, and tax the citizenry to fund his standing army. He will trust no one, certainly not men of reason or compassion. He will surround himself with criminals, and he will finally do criminal acts against the very democrats who elected him. The tyrant will despotically rule his unhappy and fearful state.

    The democrat is desirous of all things and treats all, good and bad, equally; if his son, the tyrannical man, falls into bad company — and he will — then he will be governed entirely by the bad and the desire for the bad. He will be driven by lust, and his lust will drive him completely out of control. He will eventually become something like a wild beast, his lust will become bestial, and he will do terrible things to get what he wants. No longer able to discern right from wrong, good from bad, he will turn against every man and will earn and deserve every man’s hatred and scorn. His life will be miserable.

    http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/republic/summary-analysis/book-viii.html

    • This was great.

      The Great Socrates refers to the myth of the metals.
      Let’s consider something else as a way of the beginnings of the fall from a near-perfect society.

      Let’s consider the lack of bad examples and the usual but always effective forgetting of previous mistakes.

      When the majority of the population has accepted timocracy as a way of life ,moral principles ,honour will arise. The people ,”rulers”[organizers] and not ,will enjoy a balanced life ,due to the adaptation and balance of notions they have managed to acquire from their past mistakes ,notions fine and pure ,notions that are not easily kept and treasured because of the effect of everyday physical reality on us and the focus of the human mind on matter.

      These people will teach their offspring ,the values needed to lead a moral life. Their offspring will teach theirs and so on ,until they reach a point where theory and teachings are far apart with everyday experience. People start to loosen up. Their focus is affected more and more by physical reality. They lose the ability to think in relative terms. They do not use points of reference consciously. They lose themselves by uncontrollable compartmentalization ,by focusing too much on one aspect of a matter and act blindly towards other or they distance themselves from a matter so much that it entirely disappears from their perception.

      Now only a catalyst is needed that will lead them to violence and/or manipulation of perception.

      And the story repeats itself. An eternal loop of moral and immoral bubbles that must burst at some point ,somehow.
      The eternal natural game of equilibrium. That seemingly unbeatable gravitational force from which noone escapes no matter the effort.
      Except maybe ,certain buddhist monks [if we take their word for it].

      And here is the kick. In nature everything applies at the same time. So every type of person exist at the same time and every type of situation exist at the same time. The reason of every disadvantage is the advantage we seek. As long as we see from the proper distance and without losing sight of the microclimates [known not black boxes ,although what is of most importance is only the knowledge that black boxes exist].

      Everything applies as microsystem ,microclimate ,micro[n].
      But once in a while the properties of one microsystem become the properties of the larger frame and everyother micro[whatever] ,act as a part of it ,happily or not [oligarchs becoming the main force or democrats and so on]. For certain natural procedures we have no choice. For others we do [especially human procedures] when we realize them. Until we forget them again.

      Today we pay the price ,on all levels of human existence ,of losing the proper autonomy with the proper authority. Instead of the word authority let’s say ,organisation.

      Even if we manage to shake off the fog in our heads ,we still have to find the lost realization of structured being and also work a way to preserve that realization ,by using the limitations of human thought as an advantage ,instead of letting these limitations sabotage our efforts and the efforts of our offsprings.

      In other words we need a way that leads people to treasure finer notions by using the tendency of human existence to focus on matter.

      And while focusing on matter ,seeing a gridlike structure of somekind with many different attributes of every part of the grid ,connecting in various and wonderful ways.

      Well ,you may call me crazy or that i was baptized by a crazy priest [maybe those of you of foggy and absolute perception still] ,but that structure ,simple and for everyone to use ,has appeared from the field of……gardening.

      What i am about to write is not an advertisement. That is how i feel.

      From systems theory to every day joy ,from the variety of human desires to the base of human existence ,from the ambitions of being a “big man” of whatever to humbly producing your own food ,from the giving a way of your liberty and your accepting to depend for everything truelly but unfortunately forgettably important on others to the realization of the importance of preserving your livelihood by healthy and very simple physical means ,here is a very healthy way that even if you are not interested in using personally as a hobby ,you should consider it , for it can be used as a very natural educational means of relating characteristics. A practical way for building inteligence and character.
      Nature talks to us.

      An engineer invented a way of gardening in a grid-like way ,using the notion of companion planting.

      The way Nature works teaches us how everything is connected. And there is no other way of getting close to the principles of Nature by being close to Nature herself.

      As there are plants that help each other to grow more efficiently when sowed side by side, grid by grid ,so for everything else in our own life we can assign characteristics to mental grids and work our way. Slowly one can develop a multi-dimensional way of thought by using more and more principles and characteristics. Instead of being in a lab or a classroom and considering everything separate and being separate yourself for creating controlled environments ,you find yourself out in Nature ,the most excellent lab and classroom of all ,learning how to connect everything and yourself ,physical and mental ,by being there ,physically and mentally.
      By gardening.
      Now that is a solution.

      I personally use a way i named Frame Analysis for my own understanding of situations. Maybe i will not any more ,because this is it.

      Nature teaches us. She never stops. And we all are her prophets.

    • Dimitri:

      True.

      Also let’s not forget what the ancients believed:

      ἀεὶ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπαν.

      “Always the great God applies geometry to everything”

      π = 3.1415926…

      ἀεὶ

      ὁ

      θεὸς

      ὁ

      μέγας

      γεωμετρεῖ

      τὸ

      σύμπαν

      3 letters

      1 letter

      4 letters

      1 letter

      5 letters

      9 letters

      2 letters

      6 letters

  • Having used to the high level of reasoning in your posts, it’s impossible to go back.
    I thank your for that. No wonder why the future political power in Greece is so hard to predict.
    Let me share an interview where none of the political parties participating could give a single answer to straightforward questions. By watching this interview, i felt embarrassed by the level of representation we had all this year. Just communication tricks, no plan, no logic, no reasoning, no ideology.

    This interview honors the journalist and shows that if the press was doing his job right all these years, we would had a better place to live. Even though it’s much easier for a journalist to do something like that at this time.

    P.S. Sometimes i use your site to share links because i know that greeks living in foreign countries, loving their county, want to be informed or have an idea of what’s really going on locally.

    P.S. 2 It’s amazing to see the PASOK candidate in Heraclion to be treated equally. The castle of PASOK in Crete has fallen, spreading out demolishing noise.

    • A correction: “by the level of representation we had all this year” -> by the level of representation we had as long as i can remember.

  • German manufacturing shrinks at fastest pace since 2009: PMI

    […]Markit’s manufacturing Purchasing Mangers Index (PMI) fell sharply to 46.3 from March’s 48.4, according to a flash estimate released on Monday, well below the 50 mark which would sign al growth in activity.

    It marked the fastest rate of contraction since July 2009 in the sector, which has been hit by a decline in some exports as the debt crisis in the euro zone has choked demand from
    key trading partners.[…]

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/us-german-manufacturing-idUSBRE83M0E620120423

    Maybe this will start ringing a few bells?

    • Hehe, this is normally a strong leading indicator to GDP. When Germany will hit recession Merkel has a difficult position to explain all the gifts for the “ClubMed friends”.

      At the moment she can make the argument (even it is worng) that Germany benefits so much from the Euro because it can export so nicely. She forgets to mention that the money for the exports will never be collected… But with recession plus the socialists in France she is dead!

    • @No EU Dictatorship

      Merkel will also have to explain the austerity policy since its the primary reason for the recession,and have a persuasive answer since until now their moto was “with austerity you grow”.At least she wasnt that stupid to achieve Germany’s own fiscal targets for the year,or the economy would have started stagnating earlier than this.

    • The primary reason for the recession is that the ClubMed countries are not competitive. = products/services offered have an unfavorable value for money ratio in the eye of the consumer.

      There is no recession in Sweden, Poland or Germany.

  • Professor Varoufakis

    You seem to be obsessively stuck with your multiple versions of the “Modest Proposal” that since, like Icarus, flying too close to the Sun of Andreas Koutras critique, plunged, with its intellectually melted wings, ‘headlong’ in the Aegean before it could made its landing on European soil.
    Why don’t you instead analyse and comment on Samaras’ Zappeio speech and on his economic recommendations of how to get Greece out of the crisis that is so crucial for the future of all Greeks?

    • Obviously you 2 like to irritate each other, so don’t let me stand in the way.

      There is however an important logic in voting Samaras in. In politics/geopolitics, the move that irritates your opponent the most is the right move.

      And since Merkel can’t stand Samaras, then the implication is obvious. One has to vote for Samaras since 80% of the Greece predicament is EU politics a la Merkel and 20% due to the well known Greek shortcomings.

      The above suggestion is 100% political/game theorish type. It’s not ideological. Obviously everyone is entitled to their bias.(while all of us are entitled to exploit each other bias for either fun or for a deeper purpose).

    • “And since Merkel can’t stand Samaras, then the implication is obvious. One has to vote for Samaras since 80% of the Greece predicament is EU politics a la Merkel and 20% due to the well known Greek shortcomings.”

      As if Samaras along with his party hasnt been backing the “Merkel Sponsored” Papadimos gvt.Seriously Dean?So out of the 32 parties that will be available for people to vote,Samaras is the most likely to not follow the German agenda?I really hope i musnterstood what you are trying to say…

    • Crossover:

      We are talking about simple math here. Here is the latest on the polls:

      http://fimotro.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-post_3202.html

      The 30+ parties can’t get the required seats any which way you cut it. Even the 50% of all votes (made of various parties) is not enough to govern.

      That’s because of the bonus of 50 seats given to the top party (in the case ND).

      And yes Samaras until he was forced to sign a meaningless one-page declaration of intent (which legally is not worth the paper it’s written on) so that the money gets disbursed (a la Merkel blackmail), he has been in Merkel’s black list for his refusal to abide by the Merkel program. This is well documented and even Der Spiegel attacked Samaras for his refusal to play along and tow the line of other conservative parties in Europe.

      Do I need to remind you that neither Memorandum I nor Memorandum II was voted in through ND participation? In both instances PASOK used the majority it already had. The only time Samaras cooperated was during the transitional Papademos government but this is an entirely different story. Don’t make unload again on Merkel and her pronounced stupidities! ?

    • “Do I need to remind you that neither Memorandum I nor Memorandum II was voted in through ND participation?”
      “The only time Samaras cooperated was during the transitional Papademos government but this is an entirely different story.”

      So im the only one who believes that ND not voting for M I and M II was just a political tactic?Obviously when Troika needed ND to step in,they fullfilled their duties 100%.I am assured that if PASOK was missing some votes for M I and M II, ND would have offered them,even if that required some MPs getting thrown out of the Party (and then come back which has happened already).

      Btw if you are right then its weird Germany and Troika dont give me the impression that they are pushing for a re-election of PASOK.It seems that ND or a PASOK-ND coalition is still enough for them.

      PS.Im 99.9% sure that if the roles were reversed PASOK would be the party that wouldnt have voted for M I and M II and then would have stepped in for the transitional gvt.

    • Crossover:

      Merkel’s party is in the same conservative arena (ideology) as Samaras. Yet Samaras has been a major problem for Merkel resulting in public admonishments by Merkel et al as to what “kind of conservative Samaras is in fighting the Memorandum”. This is all well papered and I can show you anything you want for proof.

      If you go back to my original post you will see that I suggested to put ideology aside and look at simple facts. Political pluralism and fragmentation of 30+ political parties in Greece plays into Merkel’s hands. Political pluralism and absence of a single party strong government means that Merkel can do as she pleases with and inside Greece (plus always have the alibi of blaming it on the Greeks based on their assured inability to agree on things).

      So, if you could leave your ideology at the doorstep(whatever that ideology is) and realize that the best thing for Greece is to have a strong government for obvious reasons in the EU game, then Samaras is the only choice today.

      Personally, I think that there are better people for the job but none in the current mix or the current political combinations possible today.

      Therefore given the choices, Samaras is the better (yet imperfect choice) because it increases the dilemma faced by your opponent(Merkel). PASOK for all practical purposes can not lead today because the whole accident happened under their watch. The rest of opposition in Greece neither has the capacity nor breeding to lead governments. They are professional opposition parties aka another class of public employees paid by the state to provide the staging of political opposition. Not only they don’t know how to govern, but don’t even have anyone qualified to hold key ministerial offices. The practical thing for them to do is to increase their voting % so that they can get more money from their public coffers. In other words to embed themselves even more deeply and with job security into the art of political theater(which the only art they think they know). Let’s not confuse politicians with actors. We have many actors in Greece (aspiring or practicing) but very few politicians skilled enough to do the job. Innocence is not a political attribute; it’s a decision by a court of justice.You don’t install innocent people in government and expect them to govern. Governance is a craft which no opposition party of less than 15% of the vote will ever acquire. Under no circumstances innocence is a substitute for competence and intelligence.

      This is Game Theory we are talking about. I you want to get rid of Merkel sooner; then vote Samaras. What we do domestically after that it’s a topic of a different conversation.

    • @Dean

      I understand your points,but im not even arguing based on ideology.You say “resulting in public admonishments by Merkel et al as to what “kind of conservative Samaras is in fighting the Memorandum”.”

      Sure,they can say that and they probably said that.Similarly socialists can wonder what kind of a socialist Papandreou is while he imposes the harshest austerity the country ever experienced.This merely proves that labels in the Greek politcial scene (conserative,socialist,progressive,nationalist,you name it) are one thing,actions are another.They dont match by definition and they dont match in reality, just by taking a look at whats happening you can see this.This also means that politcians say one thing today and tomorrow they do the opposite.So as i’ve said nothing can assure you that Samaras will be against the Memorandum after he is elected.And thats not ideology,thats reality.Im not trying to change your mind here (i mean vote whatever you want),im only saying that if your criteria on who to vote,is who will cause the biggest trouble to Merkel i dont see why Samaras is the best choice.
      Answer this simple question: Do you agree that Germany (through Scheauble especially) and Troika seem to be worried about the possibility that PASOK and ND wont be able to form a government,either together or individually?
      If yes then how your claims can be valid?Unless you believe they are bluffing and they dont express their real worries.

    • Crossover:

      Merkel et al want a national government abiding by the terms of the Memoranda I & II.

      That’s why you should vote the ND&PASOK duo because it would only lead to further election down the road.

      Just take the example of France. France allows in her 1st round to vote for whoever you want. But in the 2nd round (which is mandatory) only the top 2 parties are the choice. The purpose of the French system is not to deny democracy, simply to say that “let’s get practical in voting a majority government that could govern”.

      The problem with Greece is that we have the same 1st round when you can register a protest vote but not the 2nd round which is the practical and solid one for governance purposes. The 1st round is to deconstruct and the 2nd round is to reconstruct. The Greek system only allows for a demolition job and not for the reconstruction.

      Therefore, your task is not to vote as if there is a 1st round in Greece(when a ptotest can be launched) but to vote as if a 2nd round existed.

      The job of every voter in Greece is to self-eliminate any other party other than the top 2 and then vote for one.

      Granted what you vote might not exactly represent your views, but you need to go through the discipline of self-restraining yourself. Registering a protest vote only speaks of elementary political education. I am sure 100% of Greeks are against the M-I and M-II. So what? It’s like saying that all Greeks are anti-death. What this has to do with effective government?

      Your job as a responsible citizen is to decide your next strong government and not tell us what football club you would rather support.

    • Sorry, I meant to say this is why you should NOT vote for the ND&PASOK duo.

      Voting for a coalition government is what Merkel wants.

      Instead of trying to double guess yourself you should be trying to vote a single party in a strong position.

      Your approach is the classic negative loop. You say to yourself “I’ve heard that neither of the top 2 parties will have enough votes to form an independent government, so they will have to cooperate. In such case I will cast my vote for someone else because the top 2 are guilty”.

      What you don’t understand is this is precisely what Merkel wants you to do. Abandon the status quo and vote for someone else. Because such strategy would certainly lead to a coalition government which is exactly what Merkel wants in order to say that all politicos in Greece have accepted the terms of the memoranda.

      Your job is to pick one of the two parties and vote them in with a strong support so that the next government has a mandate. To me only ND can do such because they already have the 50 seat bonus given to the lead party. Just simple math.

  • Elections in Holland? Does this ring a bell to anyone?
    Is it like Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy , Spain in the beginning ?

    Be aware people of Holland with what you vote. This is absolutely crucial.
    The pattern so far is that a newly elected government is needed to implement a harsh fiscal policy which everyone reading this blog knows where it leads.

    Be aware people of Holland, don’t accept policies reducing wages, public expenditure cuts, bailing out banks.
    Face propaganda of competitiveness and productivity with extreme caution and critique based on economic and historic facts.
    And most important of all, be yourselves, claim your life and don’t succumb to fear mongers trying to steal your vote.

    • “Be aware people of Holland, don’t accept policies reducing wages, public expenditure cuts, bailing out banks.”

      They have to see further than that…dont forget what happened in Greece…people supposedly voted for a government that wouldnt proceed with budget cuts…

    • This is exactly why i am arguing about. Holland is not an isolated country. While being in the middle of a global financial crisis which is unimagined by most people, doing exactly that will lead to a downward spiral which will turn the debt of Holland unsustainable.

      If you have public expenditures that are unnecessary and does not affect greatly the economic life of Holland, i agree.
      If they do affect, no , it’s a terrible mistake.

      And a comment about Greece. In Greece, there were and there are huge cuts. And i mean it! The “mistake” of the greek government is that the cuts were not made where they should but instead … they were done where it was absolutely catastrophic.

      Please just start considering the consequences if what i am saying (and many people here are saying ) is true. If you are right, you will be fine. What if you don’t? It has to do with the future of your country. Don’t you have ,at least the obligation, just to consider it as a possibility?

  • Professor Varoufakis

    You are an absolute cynic as your cynicism applies to your own life. But a TRUE cynic, like Diogenes, lives in a tub. Tell me in which tub you live and I’ll tell you how many carats your cynical wisdom weighs.

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