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Consider the statements by the party’s other prominent economist, Costas Lapavitsas, in the Guardian: “First, the forces of austerity currently strangling Europe should not be allowed to crush the Syriza experiment, or turn it into a moth-eaten compromise; second, Syriza should make solid and meticulous preparations for all eventualities, a point that is well understood by many within it.”
Having expected harsh resistance and an onslaught of veiled threats from the financial community, it would be naive to imagine Syriza hasn’t prepared for this exact scenario. If Varoufakis’ proposals, which are viewed as reasonable by most Greeks, are rejected by E.U. officials, more Greeks will consider leaving the European Union a necessary evil.
At that point, if a Syriza government still exists, Greece can threaten to leave the union. (It should be noted that in his book Crisis in the Eurozone, Lapavitsas has supported a Greek exit from the Eurozone and has argued that austerity throughout Europe has been counterproductive.) That’s when the German government’s mettle will be tested. Can the European Union afford a “Grexit” and its potential implications for Spain and other austerity-ravaged countries?
A Syriza government that remains in the union poses a problem for Germany and the United States on another front. Syriza has made it clear that it will veto any attempt to ratify the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, an international trade agreement that both Germany and the U.S. want ratified urgently.
At that point, does the E.U. want Syriza to capitulate on a debt if it means the loss of the TTIP? Perhaps a Greek exit benefits the E.U. on that front. But can the E.U. afford to let Greece out if it means destabilizing the currency union further?
full: http://inthesetimes.com/article/17638/greece_eurozone _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
