Previous experience leaves little hope that Greece will be able to implement the austerity measures required of it, the liberal daily Tages-Anzeiger writes, surmising that the second rescue package is above all meant to soothe the fears of private creditors. "In view of all the uncertainties, one is led to suspect that with the new rescue plan for Greece the IMF and euro countries are primarily aiming to appease Athens' private creditors. The latter must decide in the next weeks whether to participate in the 'voluntary' credit writedown and exchange their current Greek bonds for new securities with half the value and longer maturities. Such an exchange, and the hoped-for Greek debt relief of 100 billion euros will only have a chance of success if the private creditors are led to believe at least until next month that the crisis-ridden Mediterranean country is now on secure financial footing." (10/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Grecia
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The Eurozone finance ministers demanded that Athens provide further guarantees on Thursday evening before they make their decision next Wednesday on whether to give Greece the second instalment of the rescue package. The conservative business paper Naftemporiki asks what goals the EU partners are pursuing with this strategy: "What are they trying to achieve? Is this another strategic manoeuvre ahead of the vote on the austerity agreement in the Greek parliament [on Sunday] aimed at ruling out any possibility of negative behaviour on the part of the Greek parliamentarians? … One thing's for sure, this approach is causing more and more Greeks to turn their backs on the European project and philosophy. … In addition a growing number of Greeks are less and less afraid of the prospect of Greece exiting the Eurozone. … This is evident in the increased determination of a people to take their fate into their own hands if necessary." (10/02/2012)

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Now that the Greek parties have accepted the austerity requirements the country - like the rest of Europe - must find its way back to the path of growth, affirms the liberal daily Les Echos: "Good, the country has a bit of a respite. Now it must once more learn to breathe, that is to create more wealth to be able to repay more debt. There's no point getting impatient: the process will take at least a decade. And that doesn't just apply to Greece. All of Europe has slowed down for some time to come. ... Of course it is indispensable that all of the European countries return to a sustainable budget trajectory without being at the mercy of investor hiccups. That is the objective of the European 'fiscal compact' adopted officially at the end of January. But this package won't be enough. If Europe sinks deeper into its 'lost decade', the public accounts of its member countries will remain in the deep red." (10/02/2012)

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Greece's submission will give it a reprieve, but not for long, writes the business paper Hospodárske noviny: "The politicians in Athens had no choice but to fulfil the troika's conditions. Otherwise the country would have faced bankruptcy, which would also plunge the entire Eurozone into a storm. Greece needs the 130 billion package. The costs are enormous: high unemployment, dwindling industrial production, pension and salary cuts, spending cuts, weak economic growth, social unrest, an artificial political stability. In return, some of its debts will be waived and bankruptcy avoided. Once again time has been bought. How much remains unclear. But to judge by the experiences of the last two years it won't be very long." (10/02/2012)

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The fact that the Greek party leaders still haven't reached complete agreement on the austerity package prompts the business paper Cinco Días to compare the country with a stubborn patient: "The situation in Greece brings to mind a patient who has been diagnosed by the doctors and urgently prescribed a course of treatment. They explain to the patient what will happen if he doesn't take the medicine or refuses to undergo an operation, but the patient still won't be hurried into anything and insists on taking time to make his own decision about what to do or not to do. The catch here is that Greece is not an isolated case but extremely contagious. And its lack of discipline poses a threat not just to a couple of neighbours but the entire community. … The potential disorderly bankruptcy about which there has been so much speculation and an exit from the monetary union would have unforeseeable consequences for Europe, which is stumbling along as if caught in a sandstorm." (09/02/2012)

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The constant delays of the Greek politicians are irresponsible and dishonest, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung complains: "There are no words for how irresponsible this behaviour is towards their own people and also their partners in the Union. … Transparency and candidness are the virtues needed right now, but instead the Greek party machinery is caught up in murky interest games and spreading half-truths about the real state of the country and the role of the rescuers. This type of communication in such an emergency situation leads to only one conclusion: … We urgently need a bad guy who finally voices the ugly word 'insolvency'. The creditors are provoking Greece (with threats like the idea of deploying supervisors from Brussels). And the Greek politicians are provoking with their annoying couldn't-care-less attitude. The result: on both sides the aggression is intensifying." (09/02/2012)

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Because Athens will not cut pension supplements it must present the troika with alternative proposals within 15 days for how to cut its spending by the demanded 300 million euros. But economising is a German one-way street, writes the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "The European answer to the mismanagement in Athens remains one-sided: economise, economise, economise - along with brutal enforced reforms. This punitive ideology could sooner or later produce a violent backlash - both at a political and a social level. This reaction could spread like wildfire to other Eurozone countries subjected to similarly harsh austerity measures. The one-way street recipe which demands great sacrifices without offering prospects of development or the hope of rapid improvement could lead to a disastrous short circuit in the Eurozone, which has fallen victim to Germany's one-sided perspective."  (09/02/2012)

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The austerity measures enacted in Greece have led to shrinking incomes and social problems, writes the left-liberal daily De Morgen and warns Europe not to drive the country into misery: "In just a few months Greece has slipped to the level of a fourth-world country. … The Greek austerity plan is partly based on extra taxes for the workers who no longer have any leeway, never mind the strength to boost the economy. … The European project grew out of the idea that solidarity and cooperation are far better than rivalry and war. What we are now seeing in Greece has little to do with the European dream. … If Europe wants to prove that it is a truly great project then the moment has come to do so, not by holding a knife to the citizens' throats but by offering them clever and caring support." (09/02/2012)

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Neelie Kroes has said what many are thinking, writes the business paper Il Sole 24: "The words of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, conceal an obvious impatience with the way Greece is behaving. The Netherlands in particular - perhaps even more than Germany and Finland - is toying with the idea of abandoning Athens to its fate. The EU Commissioner's words are no longer an attempt to exert pressure on the Papademos government. In certain European circles the bitterness has taken on a whole new quality. Their trust in Greek politicians has been exhausted. They fear that the upcoming elections in April will only worsen the situation in the debt-stricken country, rather than improving it." (08/02/2012)

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Athens should immediately end its talks with the creditors and the troika and start working out a plan B with the Americans, writes the left-liberal online paper To Vima: "After the extreme pressure of the last two days and the idea of a 'special blocked account' is there anyone in Greece who still believes that the words 'bailout' and 'solidarity' can be in any way connected to what is being demanded of Athens - with a gun to its head? ... Greece still has the power to blow up the whole thing. And this is the only remaining alternative. What will happen then? After the country has gone through hell - which at this point is inevitable anyway - the same people who are now blackmailing the country and plunging it into the abyss will come back and resume talks. ... The only task for the Greek government now would be to prepare special mechanisms for surviving the days of the big shock. It must turn to international agents like the US, which by the way have remained silent so far." (08/02/2012)

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Even if EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are speculating openly about a Greek withdrawal from the Eurozone, allowing Greece to go bankrupt is a risk move, warns the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "In the countries of the north the euro crisis is being represented as a matter of budget discipline, yet Spain, a problem country, has always strictly adhered to the rules. The fundamental problem of the Eurozone is the enormous gap between the productivity of the northern countries and that of the southern ones. Greece is an extreme case, but Spain and Portugal will have great difficulties bringing their economies up to northern European levels. ... This structural fault of the euro makes northern Europe responsible for the crisis. Greece is rightly being called on to make greater efforts to put its finances in order. But northern Europe can be expected to show solidarity. The Greeks cannot be left to pay the price of the crisis alone." (08/02/2012)

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Europe is putting the Greeks under too much pressure, writes the left-leaning daily Pravda and warns that this could trigger a social explosion that reverberates throughout the continent. "The picture of the European public being presented by the Greeks is unbelievable. The news about the negotiations between the government in Athens and the creditors is constantly accompanied by politicians and investors making disgruntled comments about the lack of progress being made. The remarks are always the same: Athens isn't moving forward, the reforms are inadequate. One hears much less about how harsh the cuts in salaries and pensions already are and how much public spending and debts have already been reduced. The real problem is the unrealistic expectations of the authors of the 'recovery programme'. Cutbacks alone won't trigger new growth but they may cause the already tense social situation to escalate." (08/02/2012)

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The resignation of the Boc government was overdue, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes, and hopes that an independent technocrat will put the country back on track: "The healthcare reform is a failure, the judicial reform leaves much to be desired and ailing state enterprises are still running up huge losses. ... The crux of the problem is the political system. Unfortunately it needs more time to renew itself than the country has at its disposal. None of the big parties, neither the ruling conservatives nor the allied opposition Social Democrats or Liberals, have the whereabouts to offer a new start. No leading politician stands above the hue and cry and the petty scrambling for influence, posts and money. Just like in Greece, clientelist structures and egoistic party cadres are paralysing the country. For that reason the best thing would be for an independent technocrat to take over the helm - and finally change the course." (07/02/2012)

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After the resignation of Prime Minister Emil Boc, the process of forming a government under Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, the prime minister appointed on Monday, is already in full swing. His cabinet has yet to be confirmed by parliament, however the opposition is calling for fresh elections despite the fact that regular parliamentary elections are already slated for autumn. The opposition overestimates its powers, writes Moise Guran in the blog portal BiziDay: "They plan to reject the new cabinet, but forget that the Romanians don't want them but someone else to lead the country. Ponta and Antonescu [the leaders of the major opposition parties PSD and PNL] are taking a big risk. They will be held responsible for the political instability that is already making itself felt. Ungureanu will presumably fail to win the first vote in parliament. But in the second vote, just when the opposition leaders think the fresh elections they so much want are right around the corner, they will suffer a bitter political defeat because they lack a majority. Because just as you can ride on the wave of dissatisfaction, you can also drown in it." (07/02/2012)

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As long as Romania's elites continue to enrich themselves at the expense of the community, austerity programmes will be the downfall of governments, writes the liberal-conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "It's clear to most people that cuts must be made. The question is only how and where. In Romania as in Greece, many people have the feeling that above all those who already have very little will be squeezed of all they have to get the country back on track, while the politicians continue to lap away at the state trough. But unlike in Greece, where experiments in downsizing the bloated state sector have become stuck in the quagmire of bureaucracy, the Boc government has introduced structural reforms. Extensive lay-offs were carried out in the state apparatus and public sector salaries were cut. The first positive results have been registered, even if until now they have been reflected more in economic parameters than in real life." (07/02/2012)

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While the Romanian government has resigned amidst massive protests against its austerity programme the Polish government is firmly in the saddle, writes political scientist Rafał Chwedoruk in the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "There is no threat of a major revolution here even if the trade unions have already announced protests. I expect only the workers' representatives will participate. The plans to raise the retirement age will be at the centre of the dispute. But studies have shown that the Poles have the same attitude to the extension of their working lives as they have to the planned privatisation of the healthcare system. So I don't believe there will be major political upheaval. ... A return of the [national-conservative opposition party] PiS  to power is therefore highly unlikely because for many people this party is simply not an option." (07/02/2012)

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Todos los textos disponible de » Rafał Chwedoruk

The creditors are demanding that Athens draw up a list of the labour market and tax reforms that have yet to be enacted for the country to receive further loans. But the politicians are not willing to introduce reforms, which means that the fate of the country is sealed, writes the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "Greece is turning once again into a walking menace for the financial markets. After a relatively positive week on Europe's stock markets the Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has turned up with almost empty hands. The credit negotiations will continue but owing to the lack of domestic unity in Greece things do not bode well for them. If the negotiating parties haven't reached an agreement by February 13 the insolvency of Greece will be a fact and national bankruptcy inevitable." (06/02/2012)

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Government leader Lucas Papademos aims to secure domestic support for the additional austerity measures that the Troika is demanding from Athens today. The business paper Imerisia finds the pressure from Europe unbearable: "Will we allow these hard, unfeeling, unhistorically-minded technocrats to open fire on Greek society and prompt a rebellion? Because what the troika really wants is to incite us to reject the new loan instalment, forcing the country into insolvency. ... These people are dangerous, not just for Greece but for all of Europe, because as Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann and other serious economics have stressed: if Greece collapses, all of Europe is in danger. ... For that reason Merkel, Sarkozy and Juncker should stop threatening us in this shameless way - which is being met with increasing resentment by a growing number of citizens. Together with the Greek government the trio should seriously look for an advantageous solution for Europe and Greece." (05/02/2012)

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Greece should not under any circumstances be allowed to plunge into a disorderly insolvency, writes the business paper De Tijd: "Europe itself is pursuing a hopeless course because it is relying on a one-sided recipe that doesn't work. Therefore Europe's leaders should assume responsibility and place the country under close supervision while at the same time providing help to avoid the present hopeless situation from further deteriorating. But is there the will to do this? One may surely doubt it. ... Even if Greece approves the reforms it won't solve the debt problem but merely postpone it. The stakes are high in the gambling over Greece right now. But it's questionable whether all the parties truly realise what is at risk. It won't be just Greece's future that is at stake if the country can't service its debts in March, but that of the entire Eurozone." (06/02/2012)

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