Extract of Confrontations Europe, La Revue n°110 (in French) After 6 years of Great Depression, Greece signed its 3rd Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in August, an understanding with its EU partners as to the conditions for being bailed out yet again. What should we think about this deal? First, the size of fiscal adjustment required. The program envisages a gradual…
What are the implications of this second SYRIZA-Independent Greeks (ANEL) government? Once more Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras chose to form a coalition with the right-wing populists instead of the pro-EU center/center-left parties of PASOK and Potami. Looking at his government’s composition, apart from a few exceptions, kind words are difficult to come up with. But the important thing is to…
The political capital of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is largely the product of a big misunderstanding. Public surveys in the past few months have indicated that he remains Greece’s most popular politician, having convinced voters that he can keep the nation in the euro area while bringing austerity to an end. Like every collective delusion (or, some will say, like…
It is impossible to meaningfully address Europe’s social challenges for the present, medium and longer term without addressing the central challenge of economic growth. We are now in a situation where adverse longer-term trends are nested in a highly unfavourable current and medium-term economic environment. What are the longer-term dynamics? Over the next few decades, economic growth will be slowing…
What would the consequences of SYRIZA’s economic policy be if the leftist opposition party came to power? Given the often differing positions expressed by some of its leading MPs, we have focused on the speech of its president Alexis Tsipras at the Thessaloniki International Fair in September. There are two overarching propositions in SYRIZA’s economic agenda: (a) The Memorandum is…