Europe was not, and still is not, ready for the level of consolidation that the Greek Finance Minister suggested. On the other hand, Varoufakis was not ready to compromise his ideas either.
According to the distinction made by Max Weber, Varoufakis answers to his convictions while Tsipras holds the future of Greece in his hands for Greece and Europe.
Debt relief must happen now—more than the IMF suggests—to prevent the need for even more debt relief later. This is as much in the creditors’ interest as it is in the Greeks'.
Let’s admit that gentrification is an immoral urban process. It is a deliberate policy of social engineering and needs to be tackled at its source.
If the UK is to learn anything from the political changes in Spain, it must be that Podemos was formed out of the failings of the country’s traditional socialist party.
The astounding NO vote that swept every part of Greece will take time to digest and understand and its meaning also depends on how the Europeans respond. But here are some immediate reactions.
“More cynically (or realistically) the Hellenes must be kept in the NATO orbit and timely aid is the best guarantor of it.”
Personally it took me a while to feel more hopeful about this referendum and to overcome my own anxieties and fear.
If YES wins, Tsipras could lose everything; if NO wins Tsipras could gain nothing. But, in the longer term, YES would prolong the agony of the country, while NO would show that some democracy is left in Europe.
Tsipras’ room for manoeuvre is completely circumscribed by the euro.
Much like the mythical Atlas, Greece must carry the struggle against austerity on its shoulders as punishment for its government challenging the neo-liberal European consensus in Europe.
Tribute to the Greek left from a fellow European who won’t forget the run-up to the historic Greek referendum.
