English
Olli Rehn: "I love Greece but…"
, 21/06/2013
Olli Rehn said yesterday: “I love Greece but I’m very much looking forward to a eurogroup press conference where Greece is not going to be discussed and a summer where we don’t have any Greek crisis.” Mr Rehn reminded me of my years in Britain, when I would say to friends living in warmer climes: […]
In conversation with Dr Stefan Fuchs, of Deutschland Radio Kultur (dradio.de)
, 17/06/2013
Dr Stefan Fuchs, of Deutschland Radio Kultur, paid me a great compliment a couple of weeks ago when he visited me in Athens and put to me pertinent, hard, questions on the state of the global political economy, on Europe, on economics etc. That interview has just been published on the dradio.de site and is […]
Censorship in Austria – guest post by Professor Kunibert Raffer (University of Vienna)
, 16/06/2013
The tale of my blacklisting from ERT, back in 2011, motivated Professor K. Raffer, of the University of Vienna, to send me a letter outlining his own experience with censorship on matters regarding debt restructuring (recall that my blacklisting occurred because I insisted on discussing the inevitability of a haircut to Greece’s debt). Only in […]
James Galbraith on ERT, the Fight for Greek Democracy and the Euro Crisis
, 15/06/2013
On Wednesday 12th June James Galbraith and I addressed a crowd of 2500 in Thessaloniki. After having visited the ERT’s Thessaloniki headquarters, were we had the honour and privilege of talking to ERT employees and the crowd of people that had gathered in support of public media, we walked over to the Vellidio Expo Centre […]
Why am I defending a public broadcaster (ERT) that banned me, and which I always considered problematic?
, 14/06/2013
Last night I spent a few hours, again, at ERT’s main building in Athens, keeping a finger on the ‘liberated’ organisation’s pulse, being interviewed (for the web tv broadcast that is keeping ERT’s voice alive) in tandem with my friend and colleague James Galbraith, listening to the excellent bands performing in the courtyard, soaking up […]
A night at occupied ERT. A night to remember. A night that friends at the BBC, ABC, CBC ought to note
, 12/06/2013
For those of us who grew up in the Greece of the neo-fascist colonels, nothing can stir up painful memories like a modern act of totalitarianism. When the television screen froze last night, an hour before midnight, as if some sinister power from beyond had pressed a hideous pause button, I was suddenly transported to […]
ERT (Greek state tv-radio) is dead: A blacklisted person’s lament
, 11/06/2013
A few hours ago, the Greek government announced that state television and radio channels would be silenced at midnight. No public debate, no debate in Parliament, no warning. Nothing. ERT, the Greek version of the BBC, will simply fold its tent and steal into the night. As probably the only Greek commentator to have been […]
Deutsche Welle: Is the IMF's Greek Mea Culpa motivated by anger over Germany's undermining of Banking Union?
, 09/06/2013
DW’s most recent Top Story focused on the IMF’s report of Greece, and its famous Mea Culpa. DW quotes my view that “… IMF economists are considering an exit from the Troika and are now paving the path for it… They don’t want to watch idly as Germany is trying to undermine the planned European banking […]
Interviewed by Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negócios, 7th June 2013
, 08/06/2013
Jornal de Negócios 7th June 2013, p.8 Jornal de Negócios 7th June 2013, p.9
Interviewed by Kristina Bozic, for OBJECTIV
, 08/06/2013
On 13th March Kristina Božič paid me a great complement by interviewing me for slovenian journal Objectiv. The breadth and insightfulness of the questions gave me much pleasure. To read the article in its original home, click here. Alternarively, read on (Google translate does a decent job)…
The IMF’s Anger – and what it means for the Eurozone’s crashing Periphery
, 06/06/2013
The IMF’s recent report on Greece constitutes the culmination of the Fund’s Mea Culpa regarding its complicity in a series of toxic bailouts that have contributed to the unfolding Kossovisation of the Eurozone’s Periphery. Back in March 2012 this blog reported on a preemptive strike by the IMF the purpose of which was to cover-up […]
In Perpetual Denial: Papandreou on TVO, interviewed by Steve Paikin (and responding to Varoufakis and Vaxevanis)
, 05/06/2013
George Papandreou, the former Greek PM, had a splendid chance a couple of days ago to come clean on the two fundamental errors that cost him his legacy and pushed Greece down a hideous rabbit hole: (a) Failing to acknowledge that the Greek state and banking sector was bankrupt, making preemptive haircuts essential (instead, his […]
Mixed messages from the IMF: Interview with Tom Hirst
, 03/06/2013
An interview follows with Tom Hirst, the shining light behind the new economics and finance website Pieria (well with visiting for the diversity of views it offers). To read the interview, which focuses on the IMF’s attitude toward Britain on the one hand and the Eurozone on the other, click here for the Pieria site […]
EUROPE AFTER THE CRISIS: Combining the feasible, the desirable and the essential (Lecture in Greek, Athens 4th June)
, 31/05/2013
Το «Τhe Hub Events» και ο Νικόλας Πρωτονοτάριος οργάνωσαν την Τρίτη 4 Ιουνίου 2013, στις 20:00 την τελευταία για φέτος συνάντηση του Hub Science, στο πλαίσιο του οποίου πραγματοποιήθηκε η διάλεξη του καθηγητή οικονομικής θεωρίας και συγγραφέα Γιάνη Βαρουφάκη με θέμα «Η Ευρώπη μετά την κρίση: Μεταξύ του εφικτού, του επιθυμητού και του απαραίτητου». Πατήστε εδώ για […]
Defining Austerity
, 31/05/2013
The most stupefying defence of austerity is that it is not being practised. And if it is not being practised, how can one claim that it failed? Austerians point to high deficits in Britain, in Spain etc. as evidence that, indeed, austerity was in the eye of the beholder rather than practised policy. I can […]
Austerity, the Gold Standard and the Eurozone: Today's Guardian Editorial
, 30/05/2013
Some time ago, I wrote a post with which I compared the predicament of the Eurozone’s Periphery with that of Britain under the mid-war Gold Standard. The title was Europe’s Periphery: A postmodern version of Britain in the 1930s? Yesterday, I used a pointed metaphor by which to dispel the nonsense that Europe is loosening up […]
Is Europe loosening up austerity’s iron clasp?
, 29/05/2013
Suppose that I were to demand of you that, by the end of August, you should be able to run the 100m sprint in less than 10’’. Suppose further that, to give you a firm incentive to lift your ‘game’, I whip you continually. Alas, August is approaching and your performance in fact declines, as […]
“Austerity vs. Growth – A False Dilemma?”, OECD FORUM, 28th May
, 29/05/2013
A debate on whether the world in general and Europe in particular needs more or less austerity was held yesterday in the context of the 2013 OECD Forum. Below, you can find my answer to the moderator’s question regarding what alternatives there are for the Eurozone to more or less austerity. (For a list of […]
Greek Success Story: The latest Orwellian Turn of the Greek Crisis
, 22/05/2013
Greece’s Prime Minister recently flew to China, to woo Chinese investors. In his bid to be persuasive, he adopted a radical narrative: Greece is a Success Story. A country that almost perished in 2012 is now on the mend; on the road to stabilisation and growth; a wonderful opportunity, currently, for investors to pick up […]
Monetising the… ECB: The latest insult to be added to Greece’s multiplying injuries
, 20/05/2013
Last week another installment of the cruel theatre of the absurd, also known as the ‘Greek Rescue’ (and more recently re-released as ‘Greece’s success story’), was delivered silently: Not for the first time, the bankrupt Greek state borrowed from one arm of the Eurozone to give to another, with massive interest to boot. To be […]
Confessions of an Erratic Marxist: Keynote speech, Subversive Festival, Zagreb, Croatia – 14th May 2013
, 14/05/2013
To listen (as audio only) to my keynote speech at the 6th Subversive Festival (Kino Europa, Zagreb), 14th May 2013, click CONFESSIONS OF AN ERRATIC MARXIST. For the complete program click here. For the abstract as well as full text of my talk…
Raising Awareness in 60" Video Competition
, 10/05/2013
And now for something quite different: Since our words and arguments are failing to have a serious impact, despite their value and reasonableness, perhaps it is time to resort to the artist’s touch. Vital Space invites all artists to participate in the first of a series of open call competitions in the context of our ‘Raising Awareness’ theme. For our first […]
The Utopia of Democracy: May 12th to 18th in Zagreb
, 08/05/2013
Beginning this coming Sunday 12th May, and lasting all of next week, the 6th Subversive Festival will be held in Zagreb. This year’s general theme is: THE UTOPIA OF DEMOCRACY. Speakers will include Tariq Ali, Oliver Stone, Susan George, Franco Bifo, Alexis Tsipras, Jean Luc Melenchon, Eric O. Wright. Slavoj Zizek and… yours truly. It promises […]
Macroeconomic experiments: Abenomics versus Euro-austerity
, 03/05/2013
The ABC’s (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) online periodical, THE DRUM, commissioned me to write an article comparing and contrasting the policy responses to the Crisis of Japan and of the Eurozone. Click here for the ABC’s website. Or read on below…