The Eurogeddon chess game is getting desperate so don't be surprised to see a few political/PR curveballs over the next few weeks in front of the 17 June Greek election runoff.
Case in point is this weekend's snarky comment from the typically ladylike Madame Lagarde. But before we get to that, some background:
The single worst thing than can happen from the perspective of the Troika (the IMF, EU, and ECB) and Greek elites right now is for Syriza and its 37-year old leader, 'Sexy Alexis', as he's now being called, to do well in the 17 June Greek election runoff.
In the most recent May elections Greek voters turned away from the two pro-bailout/austerity parties, PASOK and New Democracy, as they were seen as tools of the Troika. This rejection by voters sent a shiver up the Troika's spine as they know that should Syriza and Alexis Tsipras prevail he will likely walk away from the terms of the bailout and thereby call the Troika's bluff to either a) cut off Greece's banking system from further ECB funding or b) terminate any further bailout money to Greece's government. Either one of these moves will likely trigger a financial panic and spoil everyone's summer vacation plans.
So the Troika are now desperate to see PASOK and or New Democracy do better in the 17 June election. So how can they help them?
Angry Greek voters are looking for someone to blame, and as long as PASOK and New Democracy are seen as part of the problem it's unlikely that voters will put them back into power. So one strategy is to try and reshift the political blame onto the external Troika, which would have the effect of diverting negative feelings away from PASOK and New Democracy. This would help the two pro-bailout Greek parties reposition themselves as domestic victims rather than as co-conspirators with the hated foreigners.
And now you understand why the typically politie Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, probably deliberately roiled the Aegean kettle this weekend with a comment about how it's 'payback time', and Greeks need to pay their taxes.
Queue the Greek firestorm.
And lo and behold, New Democracy, who of course along with PASOK quickly denounced Lagarde's rhetoric, is again rising in the polls.
Nice move, Troika.
And, by the way, Lagarde doesn't pay any taxes on her $551,700 in annual compensation.
Case in point is this weekend's snarky comment from the typically ladylike Madame Lagarde. But before we get to that, some background:
The single worst thing than can happen from the perspective of the Troika (the IMF, EU, and ECB) and Greek elites right now is for Syriza and its 37-year old leader, 'Sexy Alexis', as he's now being called, to do well in the 17 June Greek election runoff.
In the most recent May elections Greek voters turned away from the two pro-bailout/austerity parties, PASOK and New Democracy, as they were seen as tools of the Troika. This rejection by voters sent a shiver up the Troika's spine as they know that should Syriza and Alexis Tsipras prevail he will likely walk away from the terms of the bailout and thereby call the Troika's bluff to either a) cut off Greece's banking system from further ECB funding or b) terminate any further bailout money to Greece's government. Either one of these moves will likely trigger a financial panic and spoil everyone's summer vacation plans.
So the Troika are now desperate to see PASOK and or New Democracy do better in the 17 June election. So how can they help them?
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| Agent Provocateur: Christine Lagarde, IMF Chief |
Angry Greek voters are looking for someone to blame, and as long as PASOK and New Democracy are seen as part of the problem it's unlikely that voters will put them back into power. So one strategy is to try and reshift the political blame onto the external Troika, which would have the effect of diverting negative feelings away from PASOK and New Democracy. This would help the two pro-bailout Greek parties reposition themselves as domestic victims rather than as co-conspirators with the hated foreigners.
And now you understand why the typically politie Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, probably deliberately roiled the Aegean kettle this weekend with a comment about how it's 'payback time', and Greeks need to pay their taxes.
Queue the Greek firestorm.
And lo and behold, New Democracy, who of course along with PASOK quickly denounced Lagarde's rhetoric, is again rising in the polls.
Nice move, Troika.
And, by the way, Lagarde doesn't pay any taxes on her $551,700 in annual compensation.
Did first-century Greek scholar Plutarch say:
ReplyDelete"Flee the hostile and tyrannous money-lender who interferes in your freedom and attaches conditions"?
I believe Jesus Chris also kicked the "money-changers from the Temple"!
Greeks are in good company. If only the hundre-trillion predatory Derivatives Casinos of New York and London had been regulated, or best, banished from the face of legitimate finance!
This is a great article!
ReplyDeleteThe spin of the Euro northern beneficiaries of the eurozone are 'spinning' the truth to dupe the Greek citizens--once again!
Germany (and France) benefitted enormously from the introductiob of the euro--at the expense of Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece. Trillions of derivatives from zombie banks (betting houses) for and against peripherals' bonds!
The Wall STreet journal back in April-May 2010 reported a secret meeting of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Soros Hedge and other "usual suspects" to plot a speculative War against the Euro to prop up a failing American dollar.
That's how it started....
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