Greece General Discussion

[Zinneke]

I feel sorry for the President tbh. His position has just been used as a political tool.

Greek interest rates up 10% BEFORE the vote.

Merkel beside herself.

These elections are going to be insane.

[Beezer]

Fantastic late X-Mas gift for any political junkie. One election to determine the future of the world's second largest currency.

[politicus]

168-132, not a single extra vote..

[Bacon King]

Athens Stock Exchange in freefall

[politicus]

Well, I predict ND will win again. They have been gaining steadily and when it comes down to the wire a lot of people will be scared. But it will be fun to watch for us outsiders.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Well, I predict ND will win again. They have been gaining steadily and when it comes down to the wire a lot of people will be scared. But it will be fun to watch for us outsiders.

Well, don't take greek polls at face value. SYRIZA will win handily this time but will fall short of a majority of seats.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Landslide Lyndon, I am curious, which party are you planning to vote for?
 

[Landslide Lyndon]

Landslide Lyndon, I am curious, which party are you planning to vote for?
 

I don't know yet. They are all horrible.
If Papandreou goes ahead and forms his own party then I will probably vote for it.

[Boris]

Man, I would love to be a fly on the wall for the upcoming... discussions (negotiations?) between Prime Minister Tsipras and a bunch of EU/ECB/IMF technocrats.

[Tender Branson]

Well, I predict ND will win again. They have been gaining steadily and when it comes down to the wire a lot of people will be scared. But it will be fun to watch for us outsiders.

Well, don't take greek polls at face value. SYRIZA will win handily this time but will fall short of a majority of seats.

In Austria, voters like to punish the party that calls/was responsible for snap elections.

In this case, SYRIZA (and some others) are virtually the ones who made the new election happen.

Are Greek voters different on this issue ? Lifting the party that called for snap elections to an election win ?

[Beet]

My guess: SYRIZA wins with a plurality, they make some noises and act tough for a while, the bond market goes haywire, they return to the kennel with tails tucked in, become the new ND.

[politicus]

My guess: SYRIZA wins with a plurality, they make some noises and act tough for a while, the bond market goes haywire, they return to the kennel with tails tucked in, become the new ND.

Nah, the new Pasok.

[justfollowingtheelections]

A conversation between Pablo Iglesias and Alexis Tsipras on twitter:

‏@Pablo_Iglesias_
2015 será el año del cambio en España y en Europa. Empezaremos en Grecia. Vamos Alexis!! Vamos @syriza_gr !!


‏@atsipras
@Pablo_Iglesias_  Vamos a ganar! We will win! Θα νικήσουμε! #syriza #Podemos #SiSePuede

Also:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://en.protothema.gr/on-the-3rd-of-january-mr-papandreous-party-formally-introduces-itself-to-the-greek-political-reality/

[Landslide Lyndon]

Well, I predict ND will win again. They have been gaining steadily and when it comes down to the wire a lot of people will be scared. But it will be fun to watch for us outsiders.

Well, don't take greek polls at face value. SYRIZA will win handily this time but will fall short of a majority of seats.

In Austria, voters like to punish the party that calls/was responsible for snap elections.

In this case, SYRIZA (and some others) are virtually the ones who made the new election happen.

Are Greek voters different on this issue ? Lifting the party that called for snap elections to an election win ?

Well, supposedly the people didn't want snap elections. But the government and Samaras are so unpopular that it will take a major miracle for them to avoid being defeated at the polls.

Frankly the voters have become extremely cynical. They don't expect that a SYRIZA administration will change anything meaningfully to the better. They are also well aware of the dangers if they try to antagonize the EU leadership and Germany.
But the majority has adopted a "Let me die with the Philistines" attitude and will probably cheer on if we take down the Eurozone with us.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

My guess: SYRIZA wins with a plurality, they make some noises and act tough for a while, the bond market goes haywire, they return to the kennel with tails tucked in, become the new ND.

Nah, the new Pasok.

About as venal or maybe a little less, do you think?

[Vosem]

Greece will be using the same system as in previous elections, correct? 250 seats distributed proportionally for parties passing a 3% threshold, and then 50 seats as a bonus for the top party just because?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Greece will be using the same system as in previous elections, correct? 250 seats distributed proportionally for parties passing a 3% threshold, and then 50 seats as a bonus for the top party just because?

To ensure majorities (and that the Commies wouldn't hold the balance of power. Yeah, about that...)

[Bacon King]

Greece will be using the same system as in previous elections, correct? 250 seats distributed proportionally for parties passing a 3% threshold, and then 50 seats as a bonus for the top party just because?

Yes, that's correct

[swl]

I couldn't agree more: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-12-29/how-to-save-greece-now

[Landslide Lyndon]

I couldn't agree more: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-12-29/how-to-save-greece-now

Yeah, good luck selling that to the Germans.

[swl]

If the two options left are a concerted haircut on the Greek debt or a unilateral default, the former is the less worse option for everyone: Greece, Germany and everyone else in Europe.

Maybe I overestimate her, but I think Merkel is able to choose the less worse option even if it harms her party.

[politicus]

Papandreou is not starting a new party.. no, no, nothing that trivial. He is starting a "progressive movement" named either Change Movement or New Change and with a platform that will be decided at a congress after the election... so "vote for change" delivered by a guy that has been around forever in charge of a movement without a program.

"A Movement which will work in the next parliament to secure all of the necessary preconditions for a safe and final exit from the crisis.

A Movement which will give all of its powers to make a reality of the transition to a Post-clientelist Greece, with a vision of building a Greece of Justice and Creativity."


http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/george-papandreou-announces-new-progressive-movement

http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/george-papandreous-new-party-taking-form

Still:

"a large percentage of the party’s candidates expected to be under 40 and relative newcomers to politics."

[Beezer]

Well, nothing says "change" more than a party formed by a former PM whose family has been part of the highest echelons of the country's political class for the past 90-odd years.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Well that turned out to be anticlimactic... I had expected Papandreou to give us something with a bit of substance at least. 

"A Movement which will work in the next parliament to secure all of the necessary preconditions for a safe and final exit from the crisis."

I love a political party that tells us they will solve a problem with-out telling us how they plan solve it.
The above statement could in practice mean almost anything, and since the party won't get a platform until after the elections it would seem they will fight the campaign on equally empty and meaningless rhetoric and talking points. If they actually manage to beat the 3% threshold I expect their parliamentary group to break down at the first tough vote.     

I give Papandreou an F for a jokingly bad attemt to create a new party. Someone should ask him why, since he claims to know the necessary preconditions for a safe and final exit from the greek crisis, he didn't just solved the problem when he was Prime Minister. 

[Bacon King]

Bumping this since the elections are over.

ANEL will be in a coalition with SYRIZA or at least offer co fidence. Potami and KKE TBD.

Deputy PM who will be responsible for Eurozone negotiations is reported to be this guy: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giannis_Dragasakis