Alexis Tsipras's Appeasement Not Enough For E.U.

by JASmius

Now that the E.U. has brought the Greek leader, if not Greek government, to heel, might this not be an opportune time to keep them cut off from any more bailouts and force them to put their fiscal house in order with no more delays or half-measures?   "Quit debt cold turkey," in other words?   They'll never do it, but they'll never get a better opportunity, either.

-Me, two days ago


Maybe I was selling the Euros short - though you can still hardly blame me:

Skeptical euro zone finance ministers demanded on Saturday that Greece go beyond painful austerity measures accepted by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras if he wants them to open negotiations on a third bailout for his bankrupt country to keep it in the euro.

The ministers postponed until Sunday a decision on whether to recommend starting talks on a new loan for Athens and sought further commitments first on product market liberalization, labor laws, privatization, state reform and more defense cuts, plus a promise to pass key laws next week, officials said.

The Eurogroup session will resume on Sunday, five hours before heads of state and government of the nineteen-nation currency area are to meet to decide on Greece's fate in the euro zone. [emphasis added]

In essence, a fiscal game of "chicken".  Greece's E.U. creditors are raising the ante to a level they have to know the ruling Syriza party will never accept, essentially amounting to them forcing the debt-ridden Greeks out of the Euro zone to be rid of the burden and Athens' endless gimmie-gimmie demands.  And Prime Minister Tsipras's apparent concessions to shake loose another debt infusion now start looking like a feint to enable him to be able to go to his own people, shrug, and say, "I tried to play ball with those assclowns, and this is what it got us.  We're outta here."  A mutual parting of the ways, as Greece departs the E.U. for parts, shall we say, to the east.

There is one caveat, however: the Euros are presenting something less than a fully united front:

There were also strains among Greece's partners, with some readier than others to cut a deal. One source close to the talks said [Eurogroup chairman Jeroen] Dijsselbloem decided to adjourn when discussions grew heated on what exactly Athens should be asked to do and when.

If there's the slightest dent in the armor of Greece's creditors, the smart bet is that they will crumble and cave to Greek demands.  Maybe not tomorrow, but probably within the week, as the Germans won't want to be left holding the entire proverbial bag.

Otherwise, Greece enters the Russian orbit, with all the geostrategic implications for the Russian-NATO quasi-confrontation that that would entail.

Do you see, yet, my friends, why, whether in domestic or foreign policy, there is hardly ever an instance of an unequivocal good vs. bad choice?