“FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN BINDS A GREEK DEAL WITH FEW BELIEVERS” (July 17, 2015)
Thus The Wall Street Journal today. “The likelihood that a three-year bailout will fail is put at higher than eighty percent by some at the center of events,” explains the newspaper. The fear of the unknown is the only glue that brings everybody together, indeed. Even after the Greek parliament accepted the offer of the eurozone leaders, there are ideas galore coming from the key players in the deal. For instance, the German finance minister is still suggesting that Greece should leave the eurozone for five years at least so as to ensure the country’s economic recovery. Similarly, prime ministers of many key countries using the euro still believe that a substantial haircut of the Greek debt is the only way forward because the current debt is unsustainable. And it is clear to nearly everyone in Greece that yet another set of austerity measures will get the country nowhere no matter how long they will be in force. Simply put, nobody of any importance to the solution of the financial crisis is on the same page. Not surprisingly, the euro is losing ground to the dollar and the pound. Even though the European stocks are up since the decision of the Greek parliament, the currencies suggest that not everything is as it should be. Again, the fear of the unknown is the only blessing in this mess, for nobody dares to disturb the current agreement, which is obviously lacking. After all, it was made after a whole night of acrimonious haggling last weekend.