Greek government survives confidence vote - By 12 votes.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The Greek government has won a critical vote of confidence in parliament as it struggles to win support for extra austerity measures and avoid a default. Prime Minister George Papandreou's new cabinet was approved by 155 votes to 143, with two abstentions. MPs will now be asked to approve 28bn euros (£25bn) of cuts, tax rises, fiscal reforms and privatisation plans.

To be honest, its far too late and i cant see this working at all. 1/3 of the greek population are employed by the government, and many of them have already lost their jobs, with more cuts and higher taxes coming along, there is no chance at all that this bailout could help. If they wanted to help the greek people, they would let them re-start their own currency, and let the £25bn go towards the creation of their new economy. They would stop importing and concentrate on creating cheap exports untill their new economy becomes stable, they are just keeping greece barely alive to keep investors confidence in the euro, which everyone knows is now getting flushed down the toilet because of what is happening with greece.

Split the EU, divide the money it has into equil amounts between the eurozones to create indervidual economies and have a bad 5 years, instead of a dead end.

How the hell did they get the confidence vote with thousands rioting in the streets?

Did they ask if the people had confidence? No. Just a few politicians again deciding the fate of the populace.

I have a feeling that this is going to get uglier any day now. I'm pretty confident in that.

reply to post by jude11


I think the main 2 words here are "privatisation plans".

2nd line.

While the Government may have (mostly) the confidence of each other it doesn't seem to have the confidence of the people.. I dread to think what is going to happen now as I can't see the protesters taking this lying down..

My hopes go to the Greek people in that I hope they find the right solution for themselves..

reply to post by jude11


While I sympathize with the Greeks protesting (to a point since they do want everything for nothing) I see this belief all over the World especially in the ME.

Just because thousands riot ... does NOT mean the majority of the country side with the protesters. Technically only a small percentage of the population rioted in Egypt. Only a tiny portion rioted in Tunesia, and only a small minority started the trouble in Libya.

So just because our media shows a few people throwing rocks and causing problems doesn't mean the entire country agrees with them.

reply to post by Trolloks


They're keeping this Greek Government alive in order to chop block the assets. In other words... Elitists steal the country by orchestrating a fraud on top of frauds.

reply to post by Rockpuck


Please... Here's a pretty decent history lesson with the players involved:

Looks like Greece is doing their part with the austerity budget. Have to wait and see what effect the bailout has. Even here in the US QE1 and QE2 haven't brought the country back to pre recession levels so it will take a few years in Europe.

reply to post by Americanist


Right...

So I'll speak plainly so even a 3 year old could understand:

You can't determine the national mood of any country by viewing riots in the streets. A perfect American example would be the Wisconsin protests over unions .. seeing the mass protests one could assume we all must support unions, when in fact the majority of Americans do not.

The only way to accurately determine the Greek mood is by watching the next round of elections and seeing where they shift their support to.

(It should be noted that Greeks love to riot .. They've been rioting for years for a variety of reasons.)

reply to post by Rockpuck

Just because thousands riot ... does NOT mean the majority of the country side with the protesters. Technically only a small percentage of the population rioted in Egypt. Only a tiny portion rioted in Tunesia, and only a small minority started the trouble in Libya.

thats true but the mood in greece is that everyone in greece is agaisnt the European union and they want out people dont have jobs.

Only those who have there jobs are lucky.

reply to post by Americanist


You're absolutly right. I've been reading this article (heres a little bit where your point is mentioned)

On March 1, 2010, Chancellor Merkel's spokeswoman said: "A clear no. There will be no budgetary funds for Greece." At that point, Athens was on the verge of bankruptcy, and politicians with Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) were suggesting that the country sell off a few islands.

True extent of the greek crisis (very long)

Also, i would just like to point out i was not on about the protest (even though it is a blatent back hander to the public) because it does not supprise me in the slightest. The only countries that manage to over throw or get rid of their government are ones that suit the west (Egypt, Lybia, Syria, Columbia, Chilli, the list goes on and on). But i was more on about how desperate the EU are to keep their currency, even though its already well on the road to destruction, this has only helped it along.

reply to post by Rockpuck

You can't determine the national mood of any country by viewing riots in the streets. A perfect American example would be the Wisconsin protests over unions .. seeing the mass protests one could assume we all must support unions, when in fact the majority of Americans do not.

I know you haven't been around for the whole of the last century, but let's be honest... Labor Unions are one of the main reasons you hadn't started a professional career at the age of 6 plus remained on some type of minimum wage until your exit approaching 72 (assuming you lived to see it). If you have any complaints, politely drop them in the suggestion box marked grave.

Your assessment of the Wisconsin protests is shaped by our MSM and what else exactly? I'm trying to appreciate your opinion base here.

Rampant socialism, a bloated government and massive deficits got them into this. Defaulting on their debt is irresponsible and not in their best interests.

Dumping the euro and printing money will never work unless they balance their budget immediately. The runaway inflation that would occur as a result of printing money year after year to cover budget deficits would ruin them. Since they are not self-sustaining and in fact have a large trade deficit, their money would be worthless on the world market and would make the purchase of needed commodities and resources prohibitively expensive. They could not become self-sustaining anytime soon, and lack important strategic resources such as crude and certain ores.

Fiscal responsibility, painful cuts and a balanced budget within several years is what Greece needs. It will be unpopular but necessary.

reply to post by Agent_USA_Supporter


Greece is only against the EU at the moment because the EU is telling them what to do. On the other side of the coin is that Greece can only exist because of the EU and it's policies. The double whammy is that Greece could only afford to build it's Socialist society from the ashes of ... communism ... through the EU policies. In short .. if they in any way rock the boat they bite the hand that feeds them. Otherwise they can fall back into the dustbin of ex-soviet countries with little to nothing to offer the World except a few ruins.

reply to post by Americanist


Thanks for proving my point.