Greece
A small victory for press freedom in Greece’s struggle against its cleptocracy
, 02/11/2012
A couple of hours ago, Kostas Vaxevanis, editor of HOT DOC, was acquitted by an Athenian court for having published the so-called Lagarde List. The charge was that he violated data protection legislation by publishing a list of more than two thousand names who had held a bank account with HSBC in Geneva. The not-guilty […]
Discussing Greece and Europe on Business Spectator; interviewed by Robert Gottliebsen
, 25/10/2012
Robert Gottliebsen, one of Australia’s leading business and economics journalist, interviewed me recently in Melbourne for Business Spectator. Like many anglosaxon business commentators, Robert clearly thinks that Greece is facing an impossible future within the Eurozone and that it would be better off leaving the currency union. In this interview, he began by asking me […]
Greek Crisis: Why There Is No Such Thing (And How To Escape It), tonight in Melbourne
, 14/10/2012
The Greek Community of Melbourne is, as is well known, the largest and best established outside of Greece. It is, therefore, an honour to have been invited to address its members in a building reeking with history but which, quite fittingly (given my topic and the times Greece is going through), is about to be… […]
On the prospects of the Greek fiscal consolidation program: interviewed by Format
, 14/10/2012
Martina Bachler, of Format (Austria’s leading weekly business and economics magazine), kindly interviewed me on the prospects that Greece’s fiscal consolidation program could be put back on its tracks (under the policy mix favoured by the troika). Regular readers will not be surprised to read that I described this as a ‘zero probability event’. Click […]
On the Euro-Global Crisis: Four lectures in Australia and one in London, October 2012
, 11/10/2012
During the coming next fortnight, I shall be on a lecture tour of Australia and Britain. The first lecture will be delivered on Monday 15th October in Melbourne, at the Greek Community Centre (which will, fittingly, be demolished soon after!). Then, I shall be speaking at two CPA conferences, together with Lord Lamont (formerly Chancellor of the Exchequer) in […]
An Athenian perspective on the US Presidential Election: CNN Online
, 12/09/2012
Some weeks ago, CNN contacted me to request a piece on how the US Presidential Election resonates in the streets of Athens today. Immediately, a hazy image came to me of a warm afternoon when I was walking with my mother outside the Panathinaikon Stadium, in central Athens. I was seven years old then but […]
On BSkyB commenting on the troika's latest assault on Greek labour
, 05/09/2012
You may have seen the leaked letter (see below for its contents and also read the Guardian’s report on the matter), authored by the troika and sent to the hapless Quisling-like Greek government. In this interview I was given a brief ‘window’ of an opportunity to discuss its contents and general ‘philosophy’.
Radio Exarcheia: A collaborative art project, opening this week in Melbourne, Australia
, 02/09/2012
Just received from Tom Nicholson, an excellent Melbourne-based artist, the following brief on a collaborative art project that touches upon the Greek economic crisis in a manner that acts as an apt reminder of the unique capacity that art has to cast the worst aspects of the human condition in fresh and insightful light. The […]
On BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ Programme discussing the Greek government’s request for a two year extension to Bailout Mk2
, 22/08/2012
Click here for the interview
Punishment or Aid? Holland’s TROUW newspaper sets up a debate between myself and Hans Werner Sinn
, 17/08/2012
You may recall the mental experiment that I suggested for working out the true, underlying mood towards Greece (and the rest of the Periphery). Now TROUW has published that piece, in translation of course, and has juxtaposed against Hans Werner Sinn’s take (which comes as close to confirming, in my biased eyes, the point I […]
23 crucial days for Greece
, 28/07/2012
On 20th August, the Greek government will have to borrow 3.2 billion from one arm of the Eurozone (from the EFSF) in order to repay another (the ECB). Yet Greece is insolvent. The very idea of an insolvent entity borrowing more from a community, like the Eurozone, in order to repay that same community is […]
What the EIB makes the ECB unmakes: The latest from the Greek front
, 22/07/2012
“We just showed that good news is possible in Greece”, said a beaming Greek minister the other day when it was announced that the European Investment Bank (EIB) was about to start funding investments in Greece again, after it withdrew toward the end of 2011 (in fear of losing its triple-A rating by associating itself […]
Bankruptocracy in the Greek Sector of Bailoutistan: The aftermath of the Reuters Report on Piraeus Bank
, 18/07/2012
You may have read the shocking story by Reuters on the ponzi scheme three (or more) Greek banks concocted in order to seem to raise more capital, without diluting the bankers’ stake in ‘their’ bankrupt banks. I have nothing to add to this excellent report by the folks at Reuters (except perhaps to suggest that […]
Open letter to a good friend and colleague (who happened to become Greece’s Finance Minister yesterday…)
, 27/06/2012
Dear Yanni, On the one hand I am writing to congratulate you. And on the other to express my disdain towards those who handed my friend the good ship’s wheel after the vessel has struck the iceberg. Utterly familiar with your effervescent optimism, I know you mean it when you declare confidence in Greece’s capacity […]
Greece is ungovernable (while the euro's derailment continues): On ABC tv 7.30 Report
, 26/06/2012
Following the latest Greek election, I was interviewed on the ABC’s 7.30 Report. In the interview (which you can watch here), I presented a gloomy, yet realistic, view that it really matters little now what happens in Greece. “Greece is finished”, I argued, as long as the derailment of Europe’s euro-system is proceeding unhindered. Read […]
And the Good Ship Greece Sails On: ‘Letter’ to an italian colleague
, 24/06/2012
A few weeks ago I was approached by Andrea Adriatico, a theatre director from Bologna’s Teatri Di Vita with an interesting request: Could I write a ‘letter’ to some fictional Italian economics professor, outlining on a colleague-to-colleague basis, the Greek ‘situation’ as it is experienced by a Greek economics professor. That letter would then be read […]
Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany in the shadow of a disintegrating euro: Interviewed by Doug Henwood
, 22/06/2012
Click here for the 30 minute interview (and look for the 21st June show).
My duel with Deutsche Bank exec, Wolfgang Nowak (on CBC Radio)
, 21/06/2012
Here is my reply to Wolfgang Nowak, Deutsche Bank executive and former Merkel advisor, telling CBC that Greece should be thrown out of the Eurozone. Click here for Mr Nowak’s audio
A technical failure foretold? My interrupted BBC TV interview on the… BBC's bias
, 20/06/2012
You may recall that on Greek election day I issued a missive to the BBC, suggesting that they recover forthwith the journalistic standards which they seemed to have dropped in the run up to the Greek election. That missive, might I add, came from a long standing friend and contributor to the BBC. Indeed, I […]
"Unfortunately, Greece's bailout terms will be loosened up by the troika" On Reuters explaining why 'unfortunately'
, 20/06/2012
Click here for the clip
We don’t need more time to hang ourselves – on CNN Int's Amanpour show, last night
, 20/06/2012
Click here for a brief clip and CNN’s own blog on this interview. (CNN) – In the aftermath of its most recent election, will Greece remain in the eurozone, and will a pro-bailout government begin a recovery? Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economics at the University of Athens doesn’t think so: “Even if God, his angels and every […]
The Greek Election as a manifestation of Europe’s Hobbesian Moment
, 19/06/2012
The frenzy of reporting the Greek election is coming to a close. The world is now, quite understandably, swivelling its antennae toward Spain, Italy, Mexico and the G20. It is, therefore, a good moment to take stock of the main lesson the Greek crisis’ recent twist should teach a wary world: Beware of free riders […]