[lbo-talk] The odds against Syriza

[Marv Gandall]

Below, the link to a very good background piece on the almost impossible task facing Greece - small, poor, and bankrupt - to escape from the straitjacket of eurozone austerity, even under a popular leadership like Syriza committed to radical change. The new government has now reportedly indicated it is prepared to accept 70% of the austerity package earlier imposed on the country by the EU, ECB, and IMF. The callous hardline taken by the “troika” and the German government as well as the established governing parties in even highly indebted states like Spain, is essentially political. The debt relief Greece seeks could be easily provided by its European and international creditors, but they want to make an example of a humbled Syriza that the equally discontented Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and other Europeans, inspired by the electoral success of the left-wing Greek party, won’t dare emulate.

The article is by Susan Webber, a former Wall Street analyst who blogs under the name Yves Smith on the widely read nakedcapitalism site. 

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/02/outlook-darkens-for-syriza-and-greece.html