Crying over spilt milk on debt deal

On June 25, the Greek electorate looks set to bring a left-wing party, Syriza, into government, writes Jim Power.

This party has made a strong commitment to end austerity and to do everything it can to alleviate the human suffering caused by the dramatic programme of austerity that the Greeks have had to endure since the crisis began.

It is calling for an EU Debt Conference along the lines of the London Debt Agreement of 1953, which allowed Germany write off 50% of its external debt, which was owed to around 70 countries. This debt agreement literally gave the ailing German economy room to breathe again and it undoubtedly laid the basis for the subsequent German economic miracle, which saw economic output double between 1953 and 1963.