Popular Unity head Lafazanis says new party supports orderly #Grexit and does not accept #Greece being blackmailed by Merkel & Schäuble.
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Greek snap election: New Democracy concedes defeat to Tsipras’s leftist Syriza
Greek snap election: New Democracy concedes defeat to Tsipras’s leftist Syriza
Greek left-wing party Syriza has secured 145 seats in the country’s 300-member parliament and is set to form a ruling coalition with Independent Greeks after winning 35.5 percent of the vote. The leader of New Democracy, Syriza’s main rival, has conceded defeat.
“The electoral result appears to be concluding with Syriza and Mr Tspiras in the lead,” New Democracy leader Vangelis Meimarakis said. “I congratulate him and urge him to create the government which is needed and come to parliament.”
The conservatives themselves have secured 75 seats.
Syriza is still falling short of an outright majority, meaning it will need coalition partners to form a government. The party hopes to complete this task within three days.
Addressing cheering crowds in Athens, Tspiras said that “Greece and the Greek people are synonymous with resistance and dignity, and this struggle will be continued together for another four years.”
“We have difficulties ahead, but we are also on firm ground,” he added. “We won’t recover from the struggle by magic, but it can happen with hard work.”
Greece’s leftist Syriza party is most likely has turned to its former coalition partner – the right-wing Independent Greeks. The move will restore the state of affairs that brought Alexis Tsipras to power in the first place nine months ago.
Independent Greeks party responded on Sunday that they were ready to form a coalition government with election winners Syriza.
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Third Greek Bailout Suddenly In Jeopardy: Creditors Warn Cash May Be Delayed If Elections Don’t Go As Desired
Third Greek Bailout Suddenly In Jeopardy: Creditors Warn Cash May Be Delayed If Elections Don’t Go As Desired
Just when everyone was convinced that the main “risk off” event of the summer, namely the Greek bailout, was safely tucked away and that having abdicated its sovereignty to its creditors and Germany in particular, who now hold the Greek banking system hostage courtesy of draconian capital controls, that Greece would continue to receive its monthly cash allotment just so it could repay creditors from its first two bailouts and would notmake headlines for the foreseeable future , Market News just reported that suddenly even the Greek bailout is no longer on autopilot as a result of the upcoming elections in three weeks, whose outcome is anything but assured.
According to Market News, “Greece’s international creditors may delay the first review of the country’s bailout until November, multiple EU sources told MNI Tuesday, pushing talks on potential debt relief further down the road as Greece prepares for snap national elections on September 20.”
And just in case it was not clear that Greek sovereignty is now entirely conditional on the Greek people voting precisely as the Troika requires, and for a continuation of the austerity terms delineated in the 3rd Greek bailout, MNI reports that “officials will also stress that any new government that emerges from this month’s poll must meet the current bailout terms in order to release the E3 billion pending from the its first loan tranche and have already warned the interim government to continue with the implementation of prior actions set for September.”
In other words more of the same: Greece pretending to reform, creditors pretending to inject funds into the Greek economy:
“Realistically speaking, the inspectors’ return to Greece might be delayed and the first assessment could take place in November instead of October. In such an event I don’t expect talks about another Greek debt relief to run simultaneously,” a top Commission source said.
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Another Black Swan? Syriza Outcasts Form New Political Party, Will Push For Grexit
Another Black Swan? Syriza Outcasts Form New Political Party, Will Push For Grexit
Once upon a time, Panagiotis Lafazanis had a plan to save Greece.
On July 14, just two days after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sold out the Greek referendum “no” vote by agreeing to a shockingly punitive bailout deal in Brussels, Lafazanis convened a meeting of Syriza party “rebels” at a hotel in Athens. There, he allegedly attempted to convince his fellow lawmakers to storm the Greek mint, seize the country’s reserves, and arrest central bank governor Yannis Stournaras. “Obviously, it was a moment of high tension,”one activist who attended the secret meeting later told FT.
Yes, “obviously.” Equally obvious once news of the meeting leaked was that Lafazanis would not be Energy Minister for much longer and sure enough, he was sacked by Tsipras as the premier sought to pave the way for a series of votes in parliament on bailout prior actions.
Earlier this month, as rumors started to circulate that Tsipras might not have the support to survive a confidence vote, Lafazanis announced he was forming his own political party, which was funny right up until Thursday when Tsipras resigned, setting off a series of events that will see Greeks head back to the polls in September. Now, Lafazanis has seized the opportunity to convince 28 other Greek lawmakers to join him and his new party which will be called “Popular Unity,” an ironic choice, given that it grew out of the desire to split with a party leader who had become decisively unpopular among Syriza’s Left Platform.
Far-right Golden Dawn party takes third place in Greece elections
Far-right Golden Dawn party takes third place in Greece elections
Greece’s far-right radical party Golden Dawn is expected to come third in the parliamentary election. The anti-immigrant party with Nazi roots is showing remarkable staying power, despite most of its members and lawmakers facing criminal charges.
News of Golden Dawn’s all-but-official success comes as the far-left Syriza and the Independent Greeks parties, which came in first and second, reached an agreement on the formation of a coalition government.
Golden Dawn has secured its place in the parliament with over 6 percent of votes. If victorious, they’ll be contributing 18 MPs to the 300-member parliament.
Leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos and several senior figures in the party are either behind bars or under house arrest.
Mihaloliakos posted a congratulatory recorded message for his party colleagues, saying “we achieved this great victory despite the fact that we could not be guaranteed an equal and so-called democratic election as the regime likes to call it, shunned by all (media), facing mudslinging and slander from all sides … having to campaign through a payphone. We have a fresh mandate … everyone fought to keep Golden Dawn away and they lost. Golden Dawn won.”
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Is This The Day Europe Gets Its Future Back?
Is This The Day Europe Gets Its Future Back?
With The Greek election in full motion, and first results perhaps 12 hours away, It would seem useful, no matter how the Greeks vote, to lay to rest a few misconceptions, and to expose a few ‘conceptions’ that have – largely – remained buried to date.
The first misconception is that the Greeks borrowed like crazy and therefore deserve to be thrown into a pit of suffering and misery. It is simply nonsense, a mere political narrative. Besides, most of what was borrowed went to the utterly corrupt ‘oligarch system’, not to the people in the street. Something the EU was certainly aware of when it accepted Greece as a member. But corrupt regimes can be of great use.
A few days back, in Bunch Of Criminals!, I made the point that the EU, and its members, have no right to do to a fellow member country what they did to Greece – and want to continue doing -.
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said this week that he will not negotiate with the Troika, but directly with EU officials. And there is a very solid reason for that. In today’s Observer, Helena Smith interviews Greek sociologist Constantine Tsoukalas, who understands what has been happening to his country, and – rightfully – frames it in terms of Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine.
What has happened to Greece is what Klein describes was done to South America and – later – Eastern Europe. Disaster capitalism. Bringing entire countries to their knees by enforcing predatory economic policies, and then using the ensuing chaos and smouldering ruins to take full control over their political, economic and social systems. Helena Smith:
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Troika Punches Panic Button on Greece and Spain
Troika Punches Panic Button on Greece and Spain
After four years of inflicting economic pain and misery on Europe’s semi-bankrupt periphery, the Troika (IMF, ECB and European Commission) is suddenly in a lather over the potential political consequences of its disastrous economic policies: “I wouldn’t like extreme forces to come to power. I would prefer if known faces show up,” said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker regarding the upcoming Greek elections.
Speaking at a press conference in Pekin, the IMF’s Chief Economist Oliver Blanchard warned that unemployment in Spain remains too high, fueling a surge of support in “populist movements” and “political parties that do not want to form part of the euro.”
Blanchard’s words were a barely veiled reference to the phoenix-like rise of Podemos, a stridently anti-establishment but far from Eurosceptic political party. In recent polls of voter intentions for the upcoming municipal elections (March) and general elections (September), the new party, now in its second year of existence, has consistently commanded between 25% and 30% of the votes – more than either of the two main parties.
The fear among the political elite, both in Madrid and Brussels, is palpable. In the last few days, Prime Minister Rajoy dispatched his Vice-President, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria, and Minister of Industry, José Manuel Soria, on a vital mission to persuade Spain’s biggest media conglomerate, Grupo Planeta, to adopt a more critical tone in its reporting on Podemos. In return the government will offer the broadcaster more licenses for more channels. Bienvenido a España!
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
IMF suspends financial aid to Greece – RTÉ News
MF suspends financial aid to Greece – RTÉ News.
The International Monetary Fund has said it is suspending financial aid to Greece under its huge rescue program until a new government is formed.
IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said discussion on the completion of the sixth review of Greece’s bailout will resume once a new government is in place.
Mr Rice added that the holdup in the programme would not impact the country’s finances in the short term.
The decision comes after Greek lawmakers failed to elect a new president in a final round of voting.
It leaves the country facing an early election that could derail the international bailout programme it needs to keep paying its bills.
The only candidate in the race, former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas, matched the result achieved in the second round of voting before Christmas.
However, he fell short of the 180 votes needed to become president.
Greek election uncertainty fuels concerns over eurozone stability | World news | The Guardian
Greek election uncertainty fuels concerns over eurozone stability | World news | The Guardian.
Early elections with the potential to destabilise the eurozone could be called in Greece next year, after the country’s 300 MPs failed to elect a president in their first round of voting.
In a ballot of MPs that disappointed government officials, 160 lawmakers backed Stavros Dimas, the conservative-led coalition’s candidate and former European commissioner.
“There are another two rounds ahead of us,” Antonis Samaras, the prime minister, said, emerging from the parliament after the vote. “I hold hope that a president will be elected. The conditions are difficult for the country, and I am certain that deputies are aware that the country must not enter troubled times.”
Earlier in the day, the embattled leader had warned that failure to elect a head of state could prove fatal for the country’s future in the eurozone.
Gold Surges As Greece Crashes – Eurozone Debt Crisis Part II Cometh | www.goldcore.com
Gold Surges As Greece Crashes – Eurozone Debt Crisis Part II Cometh | www.goldcore.com.
Gold jumped 2.3 percent to a six-week high yesterday as sharp falls on stock markets globally led to renewed demand for gold as a haven.
Monday night and Tuesday saw renewed market turmoil across the world. Leading shares suffered their biggest daily fall since the middle of October, hit by renewed fears about the global economy and uncertainty in Greece following the announcement of snap presidential elections.
The FTSE 100 finished 142.68 points or 2.14% lower at 6529.47 yesterday as a combination of worries unsettled investors. Greece’s stock exchange crashed as the banking sector dragged the rest of the stock market down a staggering 13 percent, it’s most dramatic single-day decline ever. Greece is failing to exit its bailout amid uncertainty over its political future after the election news.
Meanwhile Chinese shares fell sharply in the wake of Monday’s disappointing trade data, showing a drop in imports, and a clampdown on its corporate bond market, while Japan was revealed to be deeper in recession than expected and the Nikkei was down 2.25 percent this morning.
The Shanghai Composite and Abu Dhabi’s ADX saw their sharpest falls since 2009. Wall Street joined in the global declines and stock markets lost $100 billion on Monday.
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