Greek Crisis
Nazi Murders – and what to do about them (radio interview plus a short article)
, 20/09/2013
When anti-racist rapper Pavlos Physsas was stabbed to death by Nazi thugs in the streets of working class Keratsini, near Athens, Greek society was forced to acknowledge that the serpent’s egg had not only hatched but that it had produced a venomous snake intent on taking a terrible toll. No longer content to bash migrants […]
Why asymmetrical monetary unions are bound to fail (unless they feature an effective, extra-market surplus recycling mechanism)
, 15/09/2013
Asymmetrical monetary unions, wherever and whenever tried in combination with free trade and deregulated capital movements, ended up in tears and retribution. The Gold Standard, the various pegs between domestic currencies and the US dollar (S.E. Asia, Argentina, Mexico etc.), the ERM (European Exchange Rate Mechanism), the Eurozone that followed the latter’s collapse etc. they […]
Greece an "island of stability"? On CBC radio
, 14/09/2013
I live in hope that, one of these days, I shall be in a position to say something positive and cheerful upon being asked by a journalist after my views on the latest ‘Greek Success & Recovery’ story as put forward by Greece’s Prime Minister. Unhappily, I am not able to do so presently.
Was Chancellor Merkel right (about Greece)?
, 02/09/2013
Is Chancellor Merkel right when she recently said: “Greece should not have been admitted into the euro area”?
A salutory warning to those who think Greece is none of their business
, 21/08/2013
The back cover of a portuguese magazine dedicated to politics and critical thinking recently depicted a car mirror in which a Greek flag was clearly visible, complete with the sign: WARNING – OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR. With no further comment from me…
Looking back on the Global, European and Greek (post-2008) crises: Interview with D. Polymenopoulos
, 17/08/2013
Dimitris Polymenopoulos interviewed me recently on behalf of Greek-American newspaper The Greek Star. Click here for the original source or read on…
Three brief Greek summer tales
, 13/08/2013
As a child, I was fascinated by my mother’s, and her mother’s, tales from the 1940s, and in particular their stories about life under the Nazi occupation. It is perhaps not a coincidence that children’s books used to be replete with grim tales of murder, dismemberment and assorted horrors.
"The Kosovisation of Greece", by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, THE TELEGRAPH
, 10/08/2013
Readers of this blog will recall that, years ago, I was predicting that the (mis)handling of the Euro Crisis by Brussels-Berlin-Frankfurt would cause parts of the Eurozone Periphery (Greece in particular) to metamorphosise into versions of Kosovo. This reference of mine has, I must add, upset friends in Kosovo. My message to them is to […]
James Galbraith on Europe, Greece (and Syriza), Germany and America
, 30/07/2013
What follows is the extended, English language, version of James Galbraith’s recent interview with Roger Strassburg published in NachDenkSeiten. Enjoy:
Can Greece get out of the Eurozone now? Should it? Comments on Munchau and Sinn
, 24/07/2013
Portuguese journalist Jorge N. Rodrigues noticed a revival in talk about a velvet divorce between Greece and the Eurozone. So, he asked me to comment on two articles in the Financial Times, one by Wolfgang Munchau the other by Hans-Werner Sinn. Here are my responses:
Taking stock of the Euro Crisis on the Keiser Report (video)
, 12/07/2013
I always enjoy being interviewed by Max Keiser, despite our differences on a number of issues (the merits of the Gold Standard, Bitcoin – gold’s e’reincarnation), I beg to differ from him on his hypothesis that Greece fell to a well thought out conspiracy. There was no such thing. Just a badly designed common currency […]
Q&A on Greece, Portugal and Ireland – June 25th 2013
, 25/06/2013
A portuguese newspaper put to me a set of questions on the state of our PIGS. I list them here, together with my answers.
The United States and Europe have nothing to fear from a Syriza government: Our op-ed in the NYT
, 24/06/2013
Today’s New York Times features an op-ed by James Galbraith and myself on the reasons the US and Europe have nothing to fear from a Syriza government in Athens – and a great deal to benefit from. Our own title was “Why a Syriza victory is not against the interests of the United States or […]
The Australian Dollar, China's Bubble, QE Exit and the Eurozone: Guest Post
, 22/06/2013
I just received an interesting letter from a colleague who authorised me to share its essence with you, but without revealing his identity. The views expressed are his own and, though I do not agree with his conclusion, I believe this short letter should be essential reading for all those of us who follow the […]
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 […]
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 […]