Wolfgang Schäuble may heave left the finance ministry but his policy for turning the eurozone into an iron cage of austerity, that is the very antithesis of a democratic federation, lives on. What is remarkable about Dr Schäuble’s tenure was how he invested heavily in maintaining the fragility of the monetary union, rather than eradicating it in order […]
Greek Crisis
Insolvent Greece goes to market 2.0
Why do I refuse to be impressed by the news of Greece’s return to the markets? “It is because the Greek state and the Greek banks remain deeply insolvent. And, their return to the money markets is a harbinger of the next terrible phase of Greece’s crisis, rather than a cause for celebration”. The above was […]
Mr Tsipras’ insightful incoherence – my reply in The Guardian, 24th July 20176
In a Guardian interview (24 July), the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, having admitted to “big mistakes”, was asked if appointing me as his first finance minister was one of them. According to the interviewer, Mr Tsipras said “Varoufakis … was the right choice for an initial strategy of ‘collision politics’, but he dismisses the […]
“I was right about the debt, and you know it!” – My reply to Kathimerini’s latest tirade
In a recent article entitled “Varoufakis and the 2015 debt talks – behind closed doors”, published on the English language site of Kathimerini, Yannis Paleologos is putting forward an innovative new criticism of my 2015 negotiating stance regarding Greece’s public debt. His criticism’s first leg is standard troika-speak, insisting that by pressing for a […]
2nd anniversary of the OXI vote & our parallel payments system: Its importance confirmed by the oligarchic press’ continuing, ritualistic distortions
Today, on the anniversary of the stupendous NO with which 62% of Greek voters responded to a third predatory loan ultimatum from Greece’s ‘official’ lenders (the troika: IMF, ECB, EU), Greece’s oligarchic press – in cahoots with the troika itself – is hard at work in its attempt to demonise the people of Greece for having dared […]
Adults in the Room – reviewed by Adam Tooze (Columbia University)
Reading Varoufakis: Frustrated Strategist of Greek Financial Deterrence (click here for the original site) by Adam Tooze Adam Tooze holds the Shelby Cullom Davis chair of History at Columbia University and serves as Director of the European Institute. He is currently at work on a history of the global financial crisis 2008-2018, which will appear […]
Η Βρετανία πρέπει να μάθει το μάθημά της από την Ελλάδα, και να έχει Plan Β όπως ο Βαρουφάκης – Wolfgang Munchau στους Financial Times της 25ης Ιουνίου 2017
Γιατί οι Βρετανοί θα έπρεπε να συμβουλευτούν τον πρώην Υπουργό Οικονομικών της Ελλάδας, για να χαράξουν στρατηγική στο παζάρι με την ΕΕ. Η ανάγκη για Plan B του Γιάνη Βαρουφάκη. Γράφει ο Βόλφγκανγκ Μουνχάου. του Wolfgang Münchau [Το άρθρο βρίσκεται εδώ και μεταφράστηκε/δημοσιεύτηκε από το EURO2day] Οι ηγέτες που καλούνται να προσδιορίσουν τη στρατηγική των διαπραγματεύσεων […]
Martin Wolf, in The Financial Times, on ‘Adults in the Room’: “A tragedy because Varoufakis was – and is – right. The bulk of Greek debt should indeed be cancelled outright.”
This is a superbly written account of the struggle to alleviate the austerity imposed upon the Greek people by the eurozone. Greece, argues Varoufakis, has been put in a debtors’ prison and robbed of autonomy and dignity for the indefinite future. Critics would argue that he failed as finance minister in 2015 because he was […]
DiEM25’s New Deal for Greece
Yesterday, the Eurogroup came up with another fudge, another extend-and-pretend loan tranche, for Greece. It is, as this annotated version of the Eurogroup statement explains, a further boost to Greece’s never-ending crisis. Greece’s creditors, the EU and the IMF, are refusing even to discuss Greece’s recovery, Greece’s escape from debtor’s prison. So, what should be done? DiEM25 […]
The Annotated 15th June 2017 Eurogroup statement on Greece
Extending (again) the extending-and-pretending Eurogroup policy on Greece’s never-ending crisis Back in August 2015, while sitting gloomily in the Greek Parliament during the sad, long night leading to the voting in of the 3rd MoU, I found solace in annotating the MoU’s text. Last night, I felt the need to repeat that wretched ritual once […]