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Irish Journalist Destroys the Troika During Press Conference (video)
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy
Ireland’s favourite print and broadcast journalist, Vincent Browne takes on the Troika, and refuses to allow them to evade questions regarding the bailout of unguaranteed bondholders by the Irish public. Vincent Browne at his finest. His key question that Troika-representatives are unable to answer ”Why are Irish people required to pay billions for the benefit of EU financial institution?”
Video:
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A very good question that many tax payers in bailout countries would wish their own journalists to ask the Troika. Boldness is not the privilege of the Troika, isn’t it so?
Vincent Browne
Below is the transcription of the Browne part during the Troika Press Conference on Jan 19/2012 (The Journal.ie)
Vincent Browne, TV3: Did the taxi driver say that we were bewildered about having to pay unguaranteed bondholders for debts we didn’t take on? Simply to bail out European banks? If you had been asked that, what would you have said?
(There is now a procedural row about whether Vincent can ask a follow-up.)
Masuch from the ECB says he had answered a similar question from Browne two years ago, and says he understands that it’s a difficult decision, “no doubt about it”. But there are different aspects of the problem which must be balanced against each other, and in order to ensure confidence in the banking sector, those bonds must be repaid.
14.23 – 7a. Browne, again, says Ireland has to repay “billions on unguaranteed bonds” for a “defunct bank” simply to help the banks of other countries. Explain that to a taxi driver. The ECB’s Masuch says he’s answered that, but Browne disagrees.“Why are the Irish people required to pay billions to unguaranteed bondholders, under threat from the ECB?… You people are intervening in this society and causing huge damage… Now could you explain why the Irish people are inflicted with this burden?” Masuch says he has “given an answer”.
14.25 – Q8. (Unnamed questioner) How come you’re so confident about meeting our targets, with growth forecasts having come down?
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He did not get an answer. So what was the “destruction”? I am not saying he put the right question and that it was very refreshing to see him press on, but in the end he didn’t succeed. And every colleague of him is sitting there and no-one is insisting on an answer. Why? It happens all over the world this way. And it is one of the main reasons The Powers that Be are getting away with everything all the time. Little narrow minded self interests of the ladies and gentlemen of the press. Just interested in their own questions and most of the time not even interested in the answers.
I remember a press conference of ‘our’ Troika in Athens (already 2 years ago? At least it feels that way) where they told in very clear words what were problems here in Greece. They got their head bitten of by the press, the politicians and a large portion of the public. After that public press-conferences we not given any-more.
Sorry, second sentence should read: I am not saying he did NOT put the right question and it was very refreshing…
in Athens they had announced the Austerity-ABC (MoU) without previous consultation with the government and with no Gr-gov representantive on the PC table. They are bitten because it looked as if they are the de facto rulers in Greece..
“Destroyed” in the sense of exposed, Antonis. Do not get the last blood drop from a dead mosquito..
“blood drop from a dead mosquito..”? You’re right we already have enough mad Dutch scientist running around doing that. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16279365
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Look, there is something very strange around these ‘press-conferences’. You have three top civil servants, because that’s what they in fact are, sitting behind a table giving answers that should be given by elected people (or those like the Barrosos, Lagardes and so on who are appointed by our elected governments) And the questions are from people we also have not elected. Great!!!
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Of course we need to know what they want to accomplish. We hear enough from our own politicians. And half of that are just plain lies.
But there is a simple democratic solution to this: no press-conferences and let those Troikas speak before public parliamentary commissions. And yes, journalism should have it’s own roll on this. Alas, hardly any journalist these days takes the effort. Much nicer to go to press-conferences, shoot of your prepared question and act as if you are totally amazed and shattered when those behind the table give an answer you don’t want. In this case a lot of empty talk, because it is the job of the elected politicians to explain to their people why they should pay because of a now defunct bank to rescue some European banks…
In this case it is clear the Irish politicians fail miserably in that task. But it is not up to these Troikas to do that job for them. They are doing everything else already where those politicians and their state apparatus have utterly failed. Otherwise they wouldn’t be there in the first place, wouldn’t they?
I understand the whole bailout provisions as a game where eco-neaderthals taking the role of failure politicians, they put them under surveillance and ask the voters of those politicians to pay the price for having voted them. more or less