Greece
Europe and the far right
Friday June 19, 2009

A friend and reader of this blog just returned from a trip to Greece and Italy.
He writes that in all his years visiting the region, he has never seen it so
tense. The sense of anger at immigrants, and mistrust of the political
elites, is palpable.

I was reminded of a conversation I had with the driver who took me to
Heathrow last weekend. We were talking about the recent election of two
members of the far-right, openly racist British National Party to the
European Parliament. The driver fretted a bit about it, but said it was no
surprise to him. As he put it, none of the mainstream political parties in
Britain will talk about the very real problems the country faces, which, in his
view, clash with the establishment's commitment to globalism and
multiculturalism. The driver said when the mainstream parties are
determined to wish these things away, and to demonize ordinary people
who try to bring them to the establishment's attention, they shouldn't be
surprised when radical political parties with nothing to lose draw support.
More at:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/06/europe-and-the-far-right.html

    Historical Background


    Thessalonica was located at the intersection of two major
    Roman roads, one leading from Italy eastward (Ignatia
    Way) and the other from the Danube to the Aegean.
    Thessalonica’s location and use as a port made it a
    prominent city. In 168 B.C. it became the capital of the
    second district of Macedonia and later it was made the
    capital and major port of the whole Roman province of
    Macedonia (146 B.C.). In 42 B.C., after the battle at
    Philippi, Thessalonica was made a free city.

    Read more at http://www.bibleplaces.com/thessalonica.htm
    Greek priest right at home
    with rabid soccer fans
By COSTAS KANTOURIS (AP) – 6 days ago

THESSALONIKI, Greece — Many
soccer fans follow the sport
religiously, and Father Christos
Mitsios is no exception.<Read More>
An earthquake struck western Greece on Sunday, but no injuries
or damage were reported.
New York Daily News
By Corky Siemaszko Anarchists were blamed
Tuesday for a barrage of parcel bomb attacks
on foreign embassies in Greece that injured
one worker, ...
Novinite.com
The EU should be proactive in solving the notorious dispute between Greece
and Macedonia over the latter's name, according to Czech President Vaclav
Klaus. ...
BusinessWeek
Juncker said extending the maturities of EU loans extended to Greece had the
support of all member states. He spoke to reporters in Athens today.
Pray for Greece
Click Here
NEWS
Return to HOME Page
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to Expand
EMportal
... addressing the session of the Regional
Council of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
in ... that "red tape is the oppressor of
Christians and Muslims alike". ...
ATHENS, Greece — Greece is talking with international creditors about a second
bailout package "roughly equal" to the first $157 billion rescue it accepted a year
ago, the prime minister confirmed Sunday. George Papandreou also blamed
Greece's bloated and inefficient state sector for bringing the country to its knees
and... Full Story »
    Greek Prime Minister George
    Papandreou said his country is
    talking with creditors about a
    second bailout.
Much of the crime, however, is
attributed to Greeks or migrants
from Balkan countries like Albania
and Bulgaria, who, according to the
police, exploit impoverished
arrivals from Africa and Asia. An
attempted crackdown on organized
crime has had limited ...
Greece backs austerity despite
violent protests
Associated Press
Posted on Jun 29, 2011 at 09:58pm IST
Athens: Greece's lawmakers approved
a key austerity bill on Wednesday to
avert default next month, despite a
second day of rioting on the streets of
Athens that left dozens of police and
protesters injured.
    “Greece’s leaving
    would be like atomic
    bomb for EU” –
    journalist
Published: 17 June, 2011, 21:58
Greece’s leaving the euro
would be a disaster for the
EU says German journalist
Josef Joffe.
    EDITORIAL
    Greece and You

Published: June 21, 2011 New York Times http://www.nytimes.
com/2011/06/22/opinion/22wed1.html?_r=1

The euro-zone bailout of Greece is, in good part, a bailout of
European banks. In France and Germany alone, banks hold some $90
billion worth of public and private Greek debt. The European Central
Bank also holds Greek government debt, and the fear is that if Greece
defaults, cascading losses could threaten all of Europe.

Are American banks also vulnerable? No one is sure. They are not big
lenders to Greece, but they are big players in the derivatives markets.
If Greece defaulted, a European bank holding a credit-default swap on
Greek debt from an American bank would be entitled to a payout from
that bank.

Credit-default swaps are the kind of derivatives that were behind the
blowup of the American International Group and the near meltdown
that followed in the global financial system. From the available
evidence, it doesn’t appear that a Greek default would have the same
destructive power, but no one is eager to test the proposition.
In his recent confirmation hearing to be the next leader of the
European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, the central banker of Italy,
warned that no one really knows who is on the hook for these risky
financial instruments. “Who are the owners of credit-default swaps?
Who has insured others against a default of the country?” he asked.
Warning of a potential “chain of contagion,” he argued against
requiring banks to restructure Greek debt — which could involve
extending repayment terms or writing off principal — even though
Greece’s apparent inability to pay in full makes a restructuring all but
inevitable.

Whether or not American banks are at serious risk from this crisis, the
fact is that nearly three years after A.I.G., derivatives are still largely
unregulated. The financial reforms that are supposed to improve
transparency and reduce speculation — trading derivatives on fully
regulated exchanges, strict reporting requirements to regulators and
new rules on capital adequacy and business conduct — have yet to
be implemented.

The process has been slow in the face of heavy lobbying by the
banks. Republican lawmakers are bent on derailing reform by any
means necessary, including starving regulatory budgets, impeding the
confirmation of regulatory nominees and pressing regulators to adopt
light-touch rules. Some Democratic lawmakers and Obama officials are
in favor of exemptions on specific derivatives rules that Wall Street
opposes.

The uncertainty is greater when you consider that credit-default swaps
are only one type of derivative that links banks worldwide. What
dangers lurk in other derivatives, like those on currencies and foreign
exchanges?

Greece is bound to get more bailouts as long as policy makers believe
the alternative could be systemwide collapse. On Tuesday, the Greek
Parliament gave the prime minister, George Papandreou, a vote of
confidence, clearing the way for another tough vote next week on
wage cuts and other painful austerity measures that European officials
are demanding in exchange for more aid.

The Greek debt crisis is another reminder of how little has really
changed since the financial blowup — and how much more must be
done to avert a repeat here and around the globe.

A version of this editorial appeared in print on June 22, 2011, on page A20 of the
New York edition with the headline: Greece and You: Without more reform of the
derivatives market, no one can really know who may be a risk.