It appears that despite the huge debt Greece has amounted (more than 100% of their GDP), Greece is not looking for a bailout from the European Union.
Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, says that what Greece needs now is political support, not financial support.
He blames the previous administration for the current debt level, calling them "reckless and corrupt".
He plans to decrease the country's defecit by almost 10%.
All Papandreou asks for is time and support.
I had blogged on an article related to this topic in the last session and was interested in the progress of the story. I feel that Greece is showing the responsibility that the economy wants but I think they are biting off more than they can chew.
ReplyDeleteFrankly speaking, I was little surprised by the title of this article. According to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, Greece could overcome its crisis without other European’s countries financial support. I am looking forward to follow-up reports about this news which would discuss more detailed about what new policies Greece would carry out in order to achieve its goal.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with krfaris, they might be biting off more than they can chew. As we discussed in class, when cutting government spending you are going to make someone angry. And, though the article stated the government is currently enjoying 62% approval rating, I believe as the government works to lower its deficit many more instances of the current strikes will continue to occur.
ReplyDeleteI have been following this story for the past few weeks and I believe that Greece's opposition to a bailout is an effort to send the message to the world that the situation in Greece is not as bad as it seems. I struggle with the idea that a country can operate well with debt that exceeds 100% of its GDP. I believe that this is a similar situation seen when banks choose not to borrow money from the Federal Reserve as this sends a sign of being a "problem bank".
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