Greeks rally in support of their new government's negotiating stance. Giannis Papanikos/Demotix. All rights reserved.As eurozone parliaments vote on the Greek reform deal agreed by finance ministers earlier this week, there is much debate as to whether, and what, Greece won or lost.
Did the new Greek government really destroy the trust of their eurozone counterparts, only to then capitulate on a deal, showing austerity still rules? Rather, is there now some hope for those impoverished or unemployed or otherwise hurt by the enforced austerity of the euro-crisis years? Is there more hope too for democracy across Europe? Or has Greek democracy once more been trampled under foot by eurozone finance ministers, the IMF and the ECB?
Who blinked first?
What came out of the eurozone finance ministers deliberations was, quite simply, a compromise deal between Greece and the other 18 eurozone member states. While media pundits brushed up on their understanding of game theory, the days leading up to this deal looked in fact like a classic bargaining approach from the Greek side which would be familiar to any trade union leader: you put your maximum case (with relevant threats – of strikes or work-to-rule etc.), the other side puts theirs, and unless one side is totally weak you compromise somewhere in between – where exactly in between depending both on your bargaining strength and your bargaining skill.
