Greeks Get a Government, Egyptian Military Delays Election Results

A new governing coalition has been formed in Greece, with New Democracy, Pasok, and the Democratic Left as participating parties. Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy, has been sworn in as Prime Minister.  Members of Syriza, New Democracy's strongest opponents, have promised strong opposition to the new government's policies. Samaras may struggle to maintain the coalition, Pasok and the Democratic Left are not traditional allies of New Democracy, and securing a deal that reassures Brussels may prove difficult.

The cabinet has not yet been selected, although Vassilis Rapanos, the current chairman of the National Bank of Greece, has been considered a favorite for the finance minister position. The outgoing finance minister, Yiorgos Zanias, is set to meet eurozone finance ministers to plead for leniency in a future bailout agreement. Today meetings are taking place after which it is expected that the new cabinet will be announced.

Speaking as a "horrified onlooker" Paul Krugman recently urged the German government to stop their austerity program and for the European Central Bank to "stop obsessing with inflation". Krugman went on to say that the Greek election only saved Greece's membership of the eurozone by a matter of days, and that other countries were at risk of exiting the currency group. Speaking on the ECB and its potential role in future bailouts Krugman said, " The European Central Bank can come up with as many euros as needed because the ECB prints euros."

In Egypt the military authority has delayed the result of last week's election. Both Mursi and Shafiq are claiming victory and protests in support of the Muslim Brotherhood are growing in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The delay coincides with the rapid deterioration of former president Mubarak's health. Some have argued that the delay is being used by the military in order to prompt a "soft coup". Whatever the outcome Egypt will be under the rule of the military, a committed Islamist, or a member of Mubarak's regime.

Greece's new government will not succeed in keeping Greece in the eurozone, something now admitted by Keynesians and Austrians alike. How much worse the politicians can make the situation before the collapse will depend on the bailout agreement negotiations.

Egypt's election last week was meant to be a historic example of a freed people engaging in democracy, it now looks on the verge of being voided or ignored. 

Comments

[db]

If everyone agrees Greece cannot be kept in the eurozone, what function is the Greek government filling by trying to keep Greece in the eurozone?

[Fluffy]

Let’s ask John Galt:

…You’d win would be what you’ve always won in the past: a postponement, one more stay of execution, for another year?or month?bought at the price of whatever hope and effort might still be squeezed out of the best of the human remnants left around you, including me. That’s all you’re after and that is the length of your range. A month? You’d settle for a week?on the unchallenged absolute that there will always be another victim to find.”

[db]

Bingo.

[Whiterun Guard]

Then they can blame ‘everyone else’ and stay in power?

[NotSure]

At this point in time even the Greek politicians will see that staying in the euro is bad for Greece economically. This is about pride, Greece getting out of the euro would mean that Greeks are not equal to Germans and others in the euro, something that no Greek will want to admit to.

[Res Publica Americana]

Abandoning a God-awful, messy Keynesian clusterfuck will hurt their pride?

Wow. They’re farther gone than people thought.

[Pi Guy]

Yeah, because a country full Ouzo-swilling layabouts living on the dole should feel equal in every way to a country of well-educated, hard-working manufacturing success stories.

[General Butt Naked]

Hey dude, you try working a government job 3 days a week. Bet you wouldn’t last a minute. It’s hard work pretending to work. A man deserves to retire at 34, it’s a right!

[db]

The Greek bailout, like the bailouts in the U.S., is not about helping Greece. It is about helping the creditors of Greece. Who somehow will benefit by being paid off with inflated fiat? The only Greeks who are benefitting are the ones pulling their savings out. The rest are standing by while the money flits for ever so brief milliseconds into and out of the Greek banking space, allowing the banks to appear capitalized, and then onward to who knows where. The only lesson is don’t be the last guy standing when the bazouki stops.

[Fluffy]

Who somehow will benefit by being paid off with inflated fiat?

Well, sure.

If I lend you a billion dollars, I’d rather get back a billion dollars that have lost X% of their purchasing power than get back $0.

[NotSure]

Greece is completely bankrupt, if they want to stay in the euro, the only way forward is for average salaries to drastically drop and for firings of lots of its public servants. Krugman can whine all he wants, the average German is not going to accept inflating their wealth away for Greeks.

[sage]

Since when do you have to supply a handprint to get presents from Santa and his sons-in-training?

[Pi Guy]

???

[General Butt Naked]

He’s visiting with the Greek chapter of the ZZ Top Fan Club. To get in the door you have to swear your allegiance to the Gods of Texas Blues Rock.

Guy on the right doesn’t think the suit is a real fan. Sure, he might tap his leg when Sharp Dressed Man comes on the radio, but it’s not like owns any albums or anything. Remember when they played the Patras soccer-plex in ’82? Fuckin’ wicked show, man.

[SugarFree]

“The European Central Bank can come up with as many euros as needed because the ECB prints euros.”

Krugman has moved from stupidity to just out-right cackling insanity in defense of his moronic economic theories.

Laziness, greed and leftism has destroyed Greece. Krugman would rather drag all of Europe down the drain with Greece rather than admit that state-paid college until 35, retire at 50 on the back of a very few productive people is inherently unworkable.

[Res Publica Americana]

Not to mention entirely impermissible by any justifiable moral standards.

[ALHaines]

Umm, I had a 15 year old special needs student tell me we would never run out of money since the government can always print more, so why is anyone worried about the economy?

So, Krugman is at least as smart as a 15 year old special needs student. Specifically, she had low skills with computation and reading comprehension on the 5th/6th grade level.

Sounds about right for Krugman.

[Robert]

Like adjoining Turkey, Greece was in the unfortunate position of being on the line of the Iron Curtain. That made institutional communism a serious threat, prompting periodic lahing out by the “right”, which in turn was inoculated against by adopting the policies of the “left”. Because as we all know, the only choices are the “left” and the “right”.

[Pi Guy]

…because the ECB prints euros.

Someone on this forum once asked (forget when or who) what the value of a gold-based economy over fiat money would be. I replied, a bit tongue-and-cheeky, that you can’t just print more gold when you run out of other peoples’ gold.

It doesn’t seem so tongue-and-cheeky anymore.

[Pi Guy]

Please replace all instances of “tongue-and-cheeky” with tongue-in-cheeky.

One kilopardon.

[Mike M.]

Whatever the outcome Egypt will be under the rule of the military, a committed Islamist, or a member of Mubarak’s regime.

Who the hell did you think was going to end up ruling Egypt, Thomas Jefferson?

[Robert]

Alexander.

[zantopang]

That makes a lot of sense dude. WOw.

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