Agora
Posts in Europe
Voting for brinkmanship while the real economy needs solutions
Athens’ addiction to partisanship and political drama was yet again on full display during the last days of 2014. The election of the country’s president by parliament through an open roll call may appear unusual for observers from outside Greece. But the outdated electoral procedure through the assembly makes for lively political theatre in a climate of ferocious unreasonableness.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (119), Politics (171), Greece (260)
A little more persuasion, a little less reaction
When European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took sides a few days ago ahead of possible snap elections in Greece, he overstepped the boundary that keeps EU officials from openly expressing an opinion about domestic politics in another country. The gradual scrubbing out of this dividing line can only damage the EU’s interests in the long-term. In the short-term, this type of intervention is detrimental to Greece.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (119), Politics (171), Greece (260)
Waiting for Godot in Greece
According to its Wikipedia article, Waiting for Godot by Irish writer Samuel Beckett is an absurdist play, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot. The current situation in Athens has remarkable similarities with this classic piece of European literature.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (119), Politics (171), Economy (169), Greece (260)
The rise of a "Spanish SYRIZA" transform’s country’s politics
The dramatic entrance on the political scene of Podemos, a nine-month-old far-left party, does not have any precedent in the nearly 40 years of democracy in Spain. Nut nor has the country experienced the scale of the crises that have pounded it since 2008, forming the breeding ground in which the “Spanish SYRIZA” has sprung up.
Contributor: Arturo Lopo
Categories: Europe (119), Politics (171)
Optimism and obstacles in Spain
Amid a worrying situation in the eurozone, with a stalled economic recovery and extremely low inflation, it seems that Spain is one of the few bright spots, or there is at least some optimism after four years of cuts and adjustments.
Contributor: Arturo Lopo
Categories: Europe (119), Economy (169)