Greek revolt — what does it mean?
Actually it’s the same crisis, exacerbated by the failure of national austerity measures to revive the Greek economy. That is why the Greek prime minister is trying to form a new government, win a vote of confidence and get his people to tighten their belts
In theory, but the economic cuts Greece introduced as a condition for getting the bail-out have failed to deliver the necessary deficit reduction and now Europe is facing the prospect of another bail-out.
Exactly, which is why Greeks are revolting over the threat of more tax hikes, pay cuts and job losses, and why the euro is weakening again under speculative pressure.
Sadly, yes: it’s not just a question of bailing out the Greeks but limiting “contagion” to other eurozone countries and restoring market confidence in the single currency.
Yes, and it’s even more urgent now, but this time there’s a rumpus among EU nations about how to do it. Germany, backed by the Finns and Austria, and the International Monetary Fund, want Greece’s private creditors to share some of the burden by extending their credit lines to Greece. But others, led by France, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary say that would amount to a dreaded “default” by Greece, and hit the euro really hard.
It depends which economic model you favour as the way to restore the fortunes of the Greek economy and the euro more widely.
No one has the perfect solution, and nobody has got it right in this economic crisis so far.
A lot: the next slice of the original €110 billion Greek bail-out is due to be agreed by eurozone countries on Sunday, with the IMF (which contributes a share) wanting to see what new longer-term plans the EU has for propping up Greece.
Then a second bailout package for the Greeks should be agreed at more talks on July 11.
