ECB Press Release this Wednesday Could End Extortion Racket over Greece – à la Cyprus 2013
It was Greece’s “last chance,” again. But Sunday, it too fell apart, as they always do. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker broke off his attempts to mediate between Greece and its creditors. The differences were too large, a spokesperson said.
Now there’s a new “last chance” in this mutual extortion racket. The 19 finance ministers of the Euro Group will meet this Thursday in Luxembourg. The spokesman said that Juncker “remains convinced that with reinforced reform efforts on the Greek side and political will on all sides, a solution can be found by the end of the month.” So probably not.
“Last chance,” because otherwise there wouldn’t be enough time for the parliamentary processes required by other countries to approve the new bailout deal before the payments come due.
But even before this “last chance,” the ECB will meet to decide, once again, the fate of the Greek banks, and thereby Greece.
It doesn’t help that the financial markets aren’t swooning every time “Grexit” appears in the media. Greece has lost its negotiating power. The financial markets have other things to worry about. But the markets in Greece have crashed, and Greek banks have been reduced to penny stocks.
Even supporters of the Greek positions are losing patience with Greek game theory. In an interview published on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told the Corriere Della Sera: “We all want Greece in the Euro, but they have to want it too.”
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, head of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), who has been largely supportive of Greece’s efforts, chimed in more forcefully via the tabloid Bild:
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