But, in reality, Greece has met them more than half way on every meeting. They have backed off the 50% haircut they campaigned on. They have even talked about only rescheduling 30% of the whole deal. They have offered again and again and again and again. Yet the only answer they get is NO. and NO and NO and NO and NO.
So who is being intransigent? Who is being inflexible. Who torpedoed the talks? The EU finance ministers are well aware of the campaign Syriza made. The promises they made and are even more aware of what he is saying. Tsirpas is saying that the bailout is dead because it has failed.
So the only word which Greece will not allow in any agreement document is "Extend". The only word Greece wants to see in an agreement document is "Bridging".
So have a look at that statement the Telegraph (and the FT), got their hands on. It has the word Extend, used correctly in context to state that the bailout which Tsirpas says is dead, will be continued. It has the word Bridge but not as in bridging but as in "we'll think about it later".
In short the Eurozone finance ministers gave Greece exactly 0 and Greece gave a lot. So, in the end, Greece said NO and that was that. Greece at fault again.
Now here's another fun fact which I have not been tracking, although I'm fairly well aware of it. In the Wiki page on the whole Greek government Debt situation, there is a section on charges of German self interest. Now here is a real twist in the tale.
In the millions of words written about Europe's debt crisis, Germany is typically cast as the responsible adult and Greece as the profligate child. Prudent Germany, the narrative goes, is loath to bail out freeloading Greece, which borrowed more than it could afford and now must suffer the consequences. [...] By December 2009, according to the Bank for International Settlements, German banks had amassed claims of $704 billion on Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, much more than the German banks' aggregate capital. In other words, they lent more than they could afford. [… I]rresponsible borrowers can't exist without irresponsible lenders. Germany's banks were Greece's enablers.[259]
In short, if you think about it that way, when the PIIGS started to go to the wall, it meant that all the main banks in Germany were, essentially, bankrupt.
That is a really salient thought. Because it turns the whole thing on it's head doesn't it. Germany is not financing Greek recovery. Germany is bailing its banks out of bankruptcy on the back of EU austerity. In other words Greek jobs, Greek pensions and Greek families are being destroyed to bail out German Banks.
Would you be mad???
I wonder why that didn't ever make it into the election campaigns. To say that it is inflammatory is, to put it mildly, a huge understatement. In fact, Merkel might want to wind her neck in and her finance minister retract back into his shell.
But it is not going to happen.
