“I decided to play a specific role for the good of the party and Greece, we could not leave 500,000 Greeks trapped in Golden Dawn and do nothing. Somebody had to maintain contacts with them. I was telling them what they wanted to hear.” With these words former cabinet secretary …
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Eurogroup: Greeks secure bailout €8.3 bn but need to implement 12 “prior actions”
All clear in Athens front. The Eurogroup finance ministers are content with the commitments and actions of the Greek government and decided to release the next bailout installment of 8.3 billion euro from the EFSF. However not all money will come at once as our partners and lenders seem to …
Read More »Greek FinMin thinks “his work concluded”; may get new job as BoG governor
Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras might soon leave the “electric chair” he has been sitting on since summer 2012 and find a less stressful job at the Bank of Greece. According to Sunday Edition of Proto Thema, Stournaras has allegedly said that his work at the ministry has been concluded. …
Read More »Greece’s coalition government at risk to drown in “fresh milk”
Greece’s coalition government is at risk to drown in the controversial ‘fresh milk’ market reforms with at least five government MPs threatening to downvote the relevant provision. Two lawmakers from Samaras’ Nea Dimokratia and three from PASOK have repeatedly told media that they will not vote in favor of the …
Read More »Greek Gov’t – Troika deal sealed; PM distributes ‘primary surplus’ to vulnerable society groups
After seven months of tough negotiations between the Greek government and the representatives of the country’s lenders, the Troika, a deal was sealed on Tuesday. Right after the deal, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras held a press conference where he announced where and how the primary surplus will be distributed …
Read More »The usual deja-vu Greek stuff…
There are no news. There are no ‘important’ news to report about. I mean, it’s the usual Deja-Vu Greek stuff: ‘tough’ negotiations with the Troika, possible new austerity measures, thinkable new taxes, a small economic scandal here, a bigger waste of public money there. Or even a new neo-nazi delirium. …
Read More »Greek Health Minister: If SYRIZA wins, the banks will close
How do you know that elections are right outside your door – even though not officially declared? When fear mongering revives… Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis dug deep in his brain archive and pulled out a scared-to-death and quickly running rabbit. The threat of banks collapse, should main opposition party, left …
Read More »German FinMin prepares a third aid package for Greece
New loan for Greece? Additional ten to twenty billion euro? No! Really! My matraase is full with euro and so are my wardarboes and cupborads. Guests’ refreshing room is also full from the rescue aid we got in 2012, and the cellar is full too. Really! Please, do not give …
Read More »UPD Nea Dimokratia trolls PM Samaras with poster “by order of PM Samaras”
Many internet users were convinced the poster uploaded on Nea Dimokratia Facebook page it was a troll. A bad intended joke to make fun of the latest, much-chewed and much-heard ND-campaign slogan accompanying every move of Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras. The famous slogan Greeks have to hear at least …
Read More »Greece’ ruling party ND wants to know if SYRIZA’s Tsipras is an atheist
Ι first thought it was a hoax or a malicious troll stirring the already tensed relations between the party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Nea Dimocratia, and main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA. But when I heard about it also in the prime time news of nationwide private television channels, I …
Read More »Tsipras rejects “signature of commitment” to loan agreements with the Troika
Alexis Tsipras, leader of main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA rejected the option that he would put his signature under the Memorandum of Understanding (loan agreement) between Greece and its lenders. Speaking to SYRIZA parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, Alexis Tsipras said: “If they dare to ask our signature on their …
Read More »UKIP’s Nigel Farage and Greek PM Samaras verbal fencing in EP (videos)
An utmost ironic Nigel Farage, UK MEP and leader of the UK Independence Party verbally attacked Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras shortly after he revealed the targets and the program of activities of the Greek EU Presidency at the European Parliament on Wednesday. “I suggest you rename and rebrand your …
Read More »Greek FinMin: primary surplus of general government at €691million
The primary surplus of the Greek general government closed at 691 million euro, deputy finance Minister Christos Staikouras announced on Tuesday. The primary surplus refers to the period January – December 2013 and does not include the finances of the broader public administration. “It is possible to target at least …
Read More »Greek “untouchables” …touched: a scandal per day keeps the crisis away?
Hardy has the button “publish” been pressed and a new financial scandal breaks out. Slowly but surely we have lost control over the counting” how many prominent and less prominent Greeks have been arrested, how many of them are free on bail, how many of them are remanded custody, how …
Read More »Ex FinMin Papaconstantinou to stand trial over Lagarde list
A council of judges has ruled that the charges levelled against former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou in connection to the alleged tampering of a list containing the names of Greeks with deposits in Switzerland have not expired under the statute of limitations. The judges convened at the Supreme Court on …
Read More »Three more Golden Dawn MPs remanded custody; supporters attacked journalists
Three lawmakers from far-right party Golden Dawn were remanded to custody over the weekend. Yorgos Germanis, Panagiotis Iliopoulos and Stathis Boukouras are currently in the headquarters of Greek police and will be transported to Korydallos prison in Athens, pending trial. According to the charges, the three MPs belonged to a …
Read More »Greek gov’t withdraws €25 hospitalization fee, puts extra tax €0.05 on cigarettes
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was forced to withdraw the 25-euro hospitalization fee bowing to the strong pressure of his coalition partner PASOK. The decision was taken on Tuesday afternoon, after a meeting between the PM and deputy PM, Samaras and Venizelos. The controversial hospitalization fee was to bring 40 million …
Read More »€25 hospitalization fee triggers strong public reaction and coalition gov’t crisis
The 25-euro hospitalization fee imposed as of 1.1.2014 for patients in public hospitals triggered strong public reaction and a conflict between the coalition government partners conservative Nea Dimocratia and socialist PASOK. The measure voted in 2012 by the coalition government parties is expected to raise 110 million revenues for the …
Read More »Did Greece feel the good vibrations of 2014? Hm….
New Year is here. Whether it will turn happy or unhappy, it’s still to be shown. We have 354 days ahead to confirm what our friends have wished and what the horoscopes predict. That’s on the personal level. On national level nothing changed even though I took the Prime Minister’s …
Read More »No crisis can heal Greek public officials from corruption: president of children’s hospital arrested
“God and justice” cannot save many people in a country where corruption keeps on infecting public officials. On Christmas Eve the president of Aglaia Kyriakou children’s hospital in Athens was arrested by police on suspicion of accepting bribe. “What suspicion?” one would wonder. Haris Tombouloglou was found to be in …
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