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spending.8 And in this effort, it rolls over as much of the burden onto the faceless crowd as it possibly can. That crowd also protests, but its voice is drowned by the shouts, and the violence, of those who can activate the pressure levers. The state administration obstructed Greek society’s adjustment to the environment of the Eurozone owing to: its deficient organisation; its conservative attitudes; its resistance to change; its poor relation with the citizen; and the corruption permitted by an absence of scrutiny and accountability. In 2012, two cases highlighted the
Introduction Germany's approach to tackling the financial and Eurozone crises was central to the entire issue. However, analyses have tended to focus almost entirely on the policy choices taken by Angela Merkel's centre right Christian Democratic Party. Surprisingly little attention has been given to the policy positions developed and adopted by Germany's political parties on the centre left, even though their policies have been those of a junior coalition partner and are potentially those of a future governing party. On
draconian cuts to the public finances. Yet, despite these cuts, dubbed ‘masochistic’ by the Financial Times, Ireland’s economy continued to stagnate and its debt levels increased.20 The strategy quickly became unstuck when the ECB became increasingly concerned about the level of the eurozone’s exposure to Ireland’s now MUP_CoulterNagle_Printer3.indd 89 24/04/2015 16:36 90 The political economy of crisis in Ireland toxic banking system. The structure of inter-European lending over the previous decade of monetary union meant that ‘core’ banks and financial
and to maintain budgetary discipline once in the Eurozone. 4 The main employers’ organisation EK decided unilaterally to abandon tripartite collective wage talks in 2007 when Finland was governed by a centre right coalition (Bergholm & Bieler, 2013 ). However, since 2011 centralised wage agreements have been re-introduced, no doubt thanks to the fact that SDP re-entered the government after the 2011 elections. While the system of collective wage talks is not as comprehensive as before, many labour market agreements
Introduction Greece is a central case study since this is where the Eurozone crisis broke out and where the European rescue mechanism was developed. It also offers significant variation in terms of partisanship and levels of trust between the government and the lenders. Finally, it is a case that allows a comparison to be made between the negotiation and implementation of three programmes within the same country. Indeed, the period of Economic Adjustment Programmes for Greece lasted ten full years with four governments
conference at the 74th Thessaloniki International Exhibition, 13 September 2009. 3 According to PASOK’s Economy Sector Information Bulletin, 28 May 2009, ‘the financial crisis has had a larger effect on the Greek state’s cost of borrowing … Greece’s borrowing costs are higher than those of other Eurozone countries’. 4 Speech at Thessaloniki International Exhibition, 13 September 2009. Greece.indb 23 3/13/2014 1:56:35 PM
Eurozone and the IMF on the basis of these documents, following evidence that the quarterly targets had been met and that updates of the Memorandum had been agreed and approved. This procedure meant that the content of the Memorandum continually grew, to ensure that the original targets for the reduction of the deficit and debt were achieved. Following the November 2010 audit, the ‘updating’ included an obligation on the part of the Greek government to reform the costly health-care Greece.indb 83 3/13/2014 1:56:38 PM 84 Part II: The Memorandum’s first year of
framework remained unchanged, economic circumstances and extra-Treaty legal rules have altered considerably. 2007–08 brought a major US banking crisis. From late 2009 to early 2010, and for several reasons, investor concerns soared regarding Greece, Ireland and Portugal (all Eurozone states) leading to rapid rises in sovereign bond yields. In May 2010, Eurozone member states and the IMF managed to avert a Greek financial collapse only with a €110 billion bailout loan. November 2010 saw an €85 billion bailout for Ireland. A €78 billion bailout for Portugal came the
, albeit with Denmark, Sweden and the UK declining to join. As part of the accession negotiations, all of the 2004 and 2007 new Member States are required to join the Eurozone. Of these twelve new Member States, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia have so far met the convergence criteria and been able to join. The pooling of sovereignty and the establishing of a supranational authority within monetary policy necessitated a simultaneous level of integration in the area of fiscal policy. Supranational integration within fiscal policy proved itself fraught with
.1 Electoral results of PASOK in the 2000s Year Legislative elections (%) Seats (number and %) 2000 43.8 2004 40.6 2007 38.1 2009 43.9 2012 (May) 13.2 2012 (June) 12.3 158 52.7 116 38.7 102 34.0 160 53.3 41 13.7 33 11.0 European elections (%) Seats (number) 34.0 8 36.7 8 Note: The Greek Parliament has 300 seats. Greece had 24 seats in total in the EP in 2004, which fell to 22 in 2009. PASOK after the crisis in Greece (2009–13)197 2009 and November 2011, when PASOK’s single majority government was in power, Greece did not exit the Euro-zone and