Greek on the verge of an exit or default.Why is the Greek govt. called "Leftist",as if it was some kind of virulent disease? Will the Brit sh*ts call their own govt. "Rightist" everytime?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... html[quote]
Defiant Greeks draw battle lines as Grexit crisis deepens
Athens Leftist government risks "unprecedented economic contraction" as it insists it will not cross red lines over economic reforms
Red paint covers the entrance to European Union offices in Athens
Economists have warned that a looming "Grexit" would plunge Greece into an "unprecedented contraction"
By Mehreen Khan
01 May 2015
The Greek government reaffirmed its commitment to carry out key Leftist electoral promises in a stance which threatens to scupper any hope that it can avert the "unprecedented" consequences of an exit from the eurozone.
With talks over the country's cash-for-reforms programme continuing in Brussels on Thursday, Athens' radical Left government said it was still not willing to blink over spending plans to help the poorest in society.
A Syriza source said the government did "not have a public mandate to bring a deal outside the red lines, and for this reason it will not do so."
The spokesman added Greece would not submit to any agreement which would prolong the "crimes" of austerity against the country.
The comments indicate the sticking points between the two sides remain as entrenched as ever, despite Athens falling close to the abyss of a default to its international creditors.
Lenders are continuing to demand the new government carry out measures to raise VAT for Greek islands, reverse it pledges to raise the minimum wage, and begin a series of privatisations of the country's energy and transport grids.
• Greece's grand plan: default and stay in the euro
• What happens if Greece defaults to the IMF?
But with government forced to choose between paying its public sector salaries and pensions, over the Troika, economists have warned that a looming "Grexit" would plunge the economy into an "unprecedented contraction".
"With the country left outside markets, sharp currency devaluation, a credit crunch, and a forced tighter fiscal stance, the Greek economy would suffer a GDP contraction of unprecedented magnitude, even by Greek standards," warned Ruben Segura-Cayuela, Europe economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Greece has already suffered the sharpest recession in the developed world since the Great Depression, undergoing a near 25pc reduction in output since 2008.
In an ominous harbinger for what lies ahead, elderly Greeks struggled to get access to their pensions on Thursday, as Athens local authority was hit by a "technical glitch" in making its monthly obligations.
Mr Segura-Cayuela added that a forced exit would inflict a further blow to the stricken debtor, equating Greece's plight to Argentina, which contracted 11pc after it defaulted and abandoned its currency peg with the dollar in 2000.
Fears Greece will break the sanctity of monetary union have become widespread among its lenders. An internal memo from the International Monetary Fund cautioned that a Grexit would lead to rampant inflation in the country.
Despite hope that a refreshed negotiating team was getting closer to securing a release of funds, the man put in charge of Syriza's bail-out talks said his government was only willing to compromise at the margins of its Leftist promises.
"When you have a political plan, you can find solutions and make some compromises," said Euclid Tsakalotos, insisting the government would not cross the "red lines" it has laid down in talks.
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