I have been wondering whether the new Troika which is a Quartet should be called “The Creditors’ Quartet” or “The Troika Four” or just “Greece’s creditors”. The new combo of representatives from European Commission, International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Stability Mechanism definitely news a new short description, but this is not the matter. The issue is that the creditors’ “technical teams” started to work at 10 am Tuesday and entered Greece’s State General Accounting Office building right away.
The one dozen of men and women from the “technical teams” arrived with two small vans. The 12 reportedly hided their faces with files and other items they were holding when they exited the Hilton Hotel to get into the cars.
Troika’s legionnaire Number 47 hiding his face as he enters the State General Accounting Office.
Upon arrival, they started to check the facts and the status quo of the Greek economy, the banks and the state budget. Furthermore they are expected to focus on pension and labor issues. The technical teams are going to fix the policies that Greece has to implement for the next three years in order to receive the loan of 84 billion euro.
The era of the 3. bailout program for Greece has just been launched. The agreement is expected to conclude by August 15th “otherwise, we are dead,” a government source told the media.
According to Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, “some creditors wanted also a third set of ‘prior actions’, but this is not going to happen.”
But creditors insist on that. “More reforms are expected as part of the statement from the Greek authorities to allow for a swift disbursement of the European Stability Mechanism and also this is what is being discussed right now,” EC spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said on Monday
According to Proto Thema, an additional set of ‘prior actions’ might be necessary, before Greece receives €9 billion disbursement that has to arrive so soon as possible so that Athens will be able to meet obligations of €5 billion for creditors abroad and €4 billion payments in the country.
The third set of ‘prior actions’ would include: scrapping of early retirement, taxation for farmers, taxation hikes for income from rents, radical changes in the payroll of civil servants.
Reading here and there one gets the impression that creditors are determined to demand from Greece all possible and impossible sorts and kinds of austerity – whether in public or private sector. All kinds of austerity measures even unprecedented and never implemented before. They will even demand to scrap laborers’ right to strike. Because, slaves have no right to protest and strike? Most probably.
Therefore, the 12 ‘technical’ men and women and the rest of 54 in total sub-teams, working teams and the army of legionaries currently in Athens are fully right to cover their faces and avoid journalists’ cameras.
Despite the 250-men strong police force safeguarding them, a low-pensioner may go nuts due to the new cuts and the heat wave, come dangerously close to the technical teams and spit his dry saliva right into their faces.
Well, the Quadriga is in Athens to offer max. 68 billion euros in loans, the difference between 84 and 68, alas, is still needed and will be taken from Greece. Hence Greece has to lend money in order to get loan from EU to pay back the debt to EU… And it can’t really lend any, when ECB has forbidden all such activities…
Quadriga is a nice name, even though “Quartet” more musical
“The Four”: Cold Blood, Iron Hands, Emotionless and Bloodthirsty Lifestealer
The difference between 84 and 68 €bn is 16 bn, which is the shortfall from IMF cutting short its previous programme. It is going to be difficult to find a solution.
According to several tweets and comments on Daily Telegraph’s live thread yesterday, the “extended” Troika will be called the Quadriga. The person who cmae up with that name was president Juncker.
A typical quadriga can be seen at the top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
I am sure I don’t have to point out the historical parallels.
Just like before the Troika it’s on the people living and dying in Greece to name the bastards if they want to name them, opinion polls on toilets are between 4 plagues and 4 malakies
They could get hooded as people who react to them won’t need to be hooded and then try to be friendly and a serious partner for the first time in 5 years and start to learn Greek.
Since troika is a carriage with three horses, new name might be quadriga, a carriage with four horses. Nice example is on top of Berlin Brandenburg Gate.
who drives the carriage then? the Greek Troika wasn’t based on Russian carriage but on Latin triumvirate (from Latin, triumvirātus, from trēs three + vir man) is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir (pl. triumvirs or triumviri).
The implication of a carriage and horses, as opposed to a triumvirate, is that they will ride it recklessly across the country and destroy everything in its path. Sounds about right.
BTW: Schaeuble is controlling the carriage, by remote control. He pretends not to have the remote, but one day he will be caught with it. We await the Day of Judgement: the Germans will lose a lot of their population.
Quadriga: quadriiuga, quattuor (4) iugum (yokes)
In ancient Rome the quadriga was also an important symbol of triumph because of a victory or success. At all important events in the Circus the emperor made a round on his golden quadriga. Cheer up Greeks!
I prefer to refer to them as “The Quadrilla”.
Quarteditors?
the (four) plagues
What about the four horsemen of the Acropolis