Greece General Discussion

[Beezer]

EuroCrisis II - This time it's personal

[Beezer]

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

[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.

[Beezer]

What if...they really believe their weird strategy can be successful? I know everybody's always thinking that at some point Syriza will come around but these guys have no experience of being in government. Maybe they really are drinking the Kool Aid.

[Beezer]

The trolling continues...

New Greek nationalist defence minister resurrects old tensions with Turkey

Greece’s new nationalist defence minister has prompted Turkey to scramble fighter jets just days after taking office by taking a helicopter trip over the uninhabited islets off the Turkish coast that nearly triggered a war in 1996.

Turkish jets entered Greek airspace and were intercepted by Greek jets as the defence minister, Panos Kammenos, and military chiefs flew by helicopter to the islet of Imia to drop wreaths in memory of three Greek officers killed nearby in a helicopter crash 19 years ago, the Greek defence ministry said.

[...]

 “The reason the defence minister went there was to show his patriotism and to honour those who died there,” an Independent Greeks party spokeswoman, Marina Chysoveloni, said. “No one had ever done this in the last 19 years.“

Ankara did not confirm its aircraft had entered Greek airspace. “All the necessary precautions were taken by our side but, as our airspace has not been violated, there is no need for a reaction,” a foreign ministry official said.

...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/30/greece-turkey-imia-kardak-tensions-fighter-jets

[Beezer]

A narcissist to the bitter end:

Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted ‘partners’, for my… ‘absence’ from its meetings; an idea that the Prime Minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today.

I consider it my duty to help Alexis Tsipras exploit, as he sees fit, the capital that the Greek people granted us through yesterday’s referendum.

And I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride.

We of the Left know how to act collectively with no care for the privileges of office. I shall support fully Prime Minister Tsipras, the new Minister of Finance, and our government.

The superhuman effort to honour the brave people of Greece, and the famous OXI (NO) that they granted to democrats the world over, is just beginning.
http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2015/07/06/minister-no-more/

The gridlock has been all about me! The creditors hate me and now I have valiantly decided to offer my resignation so that Greece may live. No word btw on his promise of a deal on Monday and the reopening of banks the following day.

[Beezer]

Tsipras receiving a surprise phone call last night...

[Beezer]

Tsipras just made minister Dimitris Kammenos. He is a cousin of Panos and a well-known homophobe and anti-semite who thinks that 9/11 was a jewish conspiracy.
How lovely! 

If I was responsible of the opinions of my cousins and extented family...

I have racists, bigots, communists and theocrats (but mostly normal, centrist or center-left people). Am I a terrible person because of that?

I don't think anybody is using Tsipras' choice to rail against P. Kammenos. This is about a hero of the European left filling his cabinet with a rabid anti-Semite.