Venizelos admits elections are leading to deadlock
PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos admitted on Saturday that next month’s elections are leading to a deadlock and promised to ask for an extension from two to three years for the application of the measures to collect an extra 11.6 billion euros.
In an interview with Skai television Venizelos said that “the elections ahead of us have our very existence at stake and should leave Greece standing and stable. Opinion polls are showing that we are heading for a deadlock. We need to go to a national agreement. The first place is a necessity for PASOK,” said the former Finance Minister.
He added that the crisis is far from over and the risk of exiting the eurozone and returning to the drachma still exists, as “Europe does not decide rationally.”
He said he will push for the measures for the collection of 11.6 billion euros in 2013 and 2014 to be spread across three years instead and stressed there will be no extra tax burden and no horizontal cut to pensions.
Notably Venizelos said he did not agree with the PASOK motto of 2009 that there was disposable money around, suggesting he was not asked about it so he did not voice his disagreement.
Also on Saturday former minister Stefanos Manos, the head of small liberal party Drasi, accused PASOK and New Democracy of ruining the country saying “they should not even get 20 percent between them.”
Manos has been elected on both New Democracy and PASOK tickets in the last 25 years.
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http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_21/04/2012_438696
Weidmann expects Greece to stay in eurozone
An exit by Greece from the eurozone would not solve the country's problems and may lead to pressure on other members to quit the currency, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Solidarity in the European Union “has limits,” which is why the international aid to Greece is tied to certain conditions, the newspaper cited Weidmann as saying, according to a preview of a story to run in Welt am Sonntag on Sunday.
The governor of Germany’s central bank added that all 17 euro members are likely to keep the joint currency in coming years and that other countries may also sign up.
While the European Union’s rescue funds and loans “buy time,” they do not solve the problems behind the region’s debt crisis, Weidmann is quoted as saying.
The European Central Bank’s measures to help solve the crisis mean it sometimes moves in “new, and very uncertain, territory,” Weidmann said.
[Bloomberg]
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http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_30778_20/04/2012_438639
Guaranteed to fail
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By Nick Malkoutzis
There are many reasons to be alarmed about the upcoming parliamentary elections. The possibility of eight, nine or even 10 parties entering Parliament after May 6 seems a recipe for a particularly unsatisfying political moussaka. The uncertainty over what the next government may look like or if cooperation will be feasible at all is also a cause for dread. The rise of the neofascist Chrysi Avgi is enough to make one sick to the stomach.
Even more alarming though is that with the elections about two weeks away, the political language is more wooden than the ancient fleet which saw off the Persians at Salamina. While Greek voters have largely been anesthetized to the effect of their politicians’ rhetoric, the fact that party leaders and parliamentary candidates are spending so much time locked in pointless debates means the crucial issues are being ignored.
It has now been well over a week since Prime Minister Lucas Papademos announced the snap elections and all the party leaders have had a chance to set out their positions and air their views in the media or at public rallies. None, though, has provided even an inkling of a comprehensive economic plan for Greece. Not one that is reliant on a smattering of European Union structural funds to bridge liquidity gaps but one that sets out a vision for how Greece can move forward over the next few years, on which sectors it needs to concentrate, how it will increase exports, how it will stop money leaving the country and how to harness the potential of its human resources.
PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos has spoken of the need for a “national regeneration plan,” but for the moment it remains an empty structure. New Democracy chief Antonis Samaras has repeated calls for across-the-board tax cuts, but this also falls well short of the overarching scheme Greece needs. Other leaders have pointed to EU funds and revenues from possible gas and oil drilling as levers for growth.
None of this, though, is relevant to Greece’s immediate economic predicament, which is to create an environment in which businesses can be set up and then allowed to grow. For this to happen, two simple things are needed. The first is for these enterprises to have access to capital and the second is for the state to support them, or at least not stand in their way.
Guaranteed to fail
By Nick Malkoutzis
There are many reasons to be alarmed about the upcoming parliamentary elections. The possibility of eight, nine or even 10 parties entering Parliament after May 6 seems a recipe for a particularly unsatisfying political moussaka. The uncertainty over what the next government may look like or if cooperation will be feasible at all is also a cause for dread. The rise of the neofascist Chrysi Avgi is enough to make one sick to the stomach.
Even more alarming though is that with the elections about two weeks away, the political language is more wooden than the ancient fleet which saw off the Persians at Salamina. While Greek voters have largely been anesthetized to the effect of their politicians’ rhetoric, the fact that party leaders and parliamentary candidates are spending so much time locked in pointless debates means the crucial issues are being ignored.
It has now been well over a week since Prime Minister Lucas Papademos announced the snap elections and all the party leaders have had a chance to set out their positions and air their views in the media or at public rallies. None, though, has provided even an inkling of a comprehensive economic plan for Greece. Not one that is reliant on a smattering of European Union structural funds to bridge liquidity gaps but one that sets out a vision for how Greece can move forward over the next few years, on which sectors it needs to concentrate, how it will increase exports, how it will stop money leaving the country and how to harness the potential of its human resources.
PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos has spoken of the need for a “national regeneration plan,” but for the moment it remains an empty structure. New Democracy chief Antonis Samaras has repeated calls for across-the-board tax cuts, but this also falls well short of the overarching scheme Greece needs. Other leaders have pointed to EU funds and revenues from possible gas and oil drilling as levers for growth.
None of this, though, is relevant to Greece’s immediate economic predicament, which is to create an environment in which businesses can be set up and then allowed to grow. For this to happen, two simple things are needed. The first is for these enterprises to have access to capital and the second is for the state to support them, or at least not stand in their way.
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