Brklyngrk

Apparently the new finance minister is doing well....Minister Tsakalotos is a breath of fresh air,? Malta Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said in an interview. ?The language has definitely changed, and from what we heard from him and shown through his presentation, he strongly agrees with the Eurogroup that Greece needs a major overhaul.? Finland?s Finance Minister Alexander Stubb, one of the most trenchant critics of the Greek government, said the Oxford-educated economist Tsakalotos ?made a good presentation? even as he was pressed for more concrete proposals. Analysts say Varoufakis?s removal may raise the chances of a new deal for Greece, averting broad default and keeping the nation in the euro region, at least for now

The only way I see Greece getting a haircut on the debt is if it agrees to some sort of milestone agreement. Basically, in three months, if Greece has implemented X, Greece gets to keep the interest payments from an escrow account. In 6 months, if Greece's reforms are still being met, maturities get pushed back....

It's not about being for sale, it's about being serious in these negotiations. If it is true that Greece is unprepared, what better way to anger your peers by not being ready. Remember, Tsipras said that the banks would originally be open on Tuesday.

Kathimerini's Brussels correspondent @Elbarbie: Acc to info:Greeks came without proposals.Tomorrow will submit new request and proposals.

I think the referendum answered one question, that the people are angry at austerity. They want the euro however they cannot handle the bad policies that have been stuffed down their throat. It showed the EU that if this is issue is not addressed, it can have a social revolution across Europe. The Portuguese socialist party, who is similar to SYRIZA and running for elections in three months, echoed Tsipras call for end of the austerity and ironically is looking at Greece. Many of these southern European countries are looking at Greece as a test case. Spain just said that we will look at debt reduction for Greece, France said the same thing. Italy stated that they want growth options in any package. Not sure what any of this will mean if the banks cannot open in a few days but everyone is aware that something has to be done. Hopefully, Tsipras can present to the EU a comprehensive, robust, detailed package that includes everything he wants along with some cuts. Something the economists can agree makes sense and works.

I did not want SYRIZA, still do not care for Tsipras but the people have spoken. There is anger and rightfully so. The majority of the no came from out of work youth you have not been able to find a job for a long time. I met some young kid the other day who came here from Greece, he must have been 27. He told me that he and his friends had just obtained their masters degrees and not one of them could find jobs. They were just sitting there and after 6 months, he came to the US to get a job as a waiter. How can that be acceptable? Our best and brightest leaving because of lack of job prospects. To say that he was lazy would be unfounded. And then you have the EU who is just being punitive. My son, who is 5 asked me why are people waiting on lines at the banks in Greece. I told him in simple terms that the ECB cut off funding (the other EU countries). His response, that is messed up, why would they do that to Greece. That is not a nice thing to do. A 5 year old realizing what many of us adults do not. I know we live in a world were economics and finance are king, but we also have a social responsibility to our fellow man. Last week, I would have voted Yes. Today, I am not sure but I do not blame the Greek people for voting No.

The biggest issue that most of Europe has with Tsipras is that they cannot get a straight answer. He flip flops all the time. He is telling the public to vote NO on the agreement while having told the EU he accepts it (of course it was a few days to late). I have always been taught that your word is similar to currency. If you want it to be worth anything, you have to stand by it. He has lost all credibility with the EU. We want a leader that can walk into a room and be able to articulate our arguments with sound, insightful solutions. Someone that is respected and considered an equal, not an outcast.

I was watching a debate last night between a SYRIZA MP who wants a NO vote and several others (ND, business men, etc...) The lies coming out of this guys mouth were incredible. He was saying that if everyone voted NO, banks would open the next day. If they voted yes, banks wouldn't open for two weeks.

Greece makes last-minute proposal to lenders to avert default So Tsipras who was against the bailout decides to accept it 5 hours before the deadline expires....This is why I don't trust him, he told everyone that this is a bad deal and then does an about face 2 days later!!!!

HellasHab - Sorry for the misunderstanding, just read it that way. At the end of the day while everyone agrees that the austerity imposed measures by the EU is not helping Greece, the alternatives are far worse. If Greece would leave the EU, what would happen to the quality of life of the Greek people? How would they pay for the basic necessities that they need? Its a hard choice either way. Would I rather Greece be in Europe or out of it? I would pick in Europe.

JVC - I am not so much upset at the point that he could not reach a deal, I am upset at his negotiating tactics. I have said many times that I do believe he has valid points however you lose all credibility when you fail to participate in constructive negotiations. In our day to day lives, we all have deadlines that we must adhere to. For example, if my company has a reporting requirement with the SEC on the 30th and two days before I say that I will not meet it because I need to schedule a board meeting a week later, what would happen? Would investors want to invest capital in my company? What would happen to my credibility? How would the general public react? Would you invest in me? I do not like Europe's proposals as they would restrict growth but Greece has failed to produce a proposal that would both cut spending or reform the public sector and improve growth. The Samaras administration did not do this either but I trust them more. They are the best choice of all of the current options.

Quote I am new to these forums, express my opinion and get called a moron over what is sound reasoning. Instead of having an honest debate, I get critized for posting. Way to encourage new people to express their opinions. I am in these forums as I believe many of us are, because we genuinely love Greece and its people and are upset on all that has transpired over the last few years. There have been many mistakes made by all parties. The reason I blame Tsipras is for his unprofessionalism in handling negotiations. You do not set up a referendum after a deadline has passed. That's amateurism at its finest. To go over your logic, Syriza has been in power for a few months as well, why haven't they closed a good deal. If you remember their campaign promises, they would have ripped the deal and Europe would have forgiven our debt. All these things take time, you can't reverse something in a few months that took years to make.

The other point is that the drachma will fluctuate to the Euro. For example, we owe 300 billion euro which today is the equivalent to 600 billion drachma (example). In a month, the 300 billion euro will equal 1 trillion drachma as the drachma will devalue to the euro making our debts more not less...

So they leave, Greece has no money. Remember, we are an import economy and no one will want our drachma. How will Greece pay its pensioners? How will Greece pay for law enforcement? Basic needs such as medicine, food? We are the ones needing funds. We default, we still owe that money!!!! We may negotiate some sort of write off but even Argentina paid some % of its debt to its creditors. I do not think the average Greek understands what is at stake. The deal we are getting stinks (the Samaras administration was getting to the point of building credibility with the Troika and would have gotten way better terms) but the alternatives are far far worse!!!!

I have lost all respect for Tsipras and his government (not that I had that much before hand). If you wanted the people to decide, you should have let them decide BEFORE the June 30th deadline. You know, right before the tourist season (Greece's #1 revenue producer!!!!) This shows his inexperience of negotiating at the international level. All he did was antagonize the EU and everyone else who was working on the negotiations. I do not think he is wrong on some of his points however the harsh reality is that if Greece votes NO, Greece is out of the Euro. People will suffer a lot worse than they will under the current program. Greece receives/received a lot of EU subsidies which will now come to an end. He went all in holding a pair of deuces.

The biggest issue in Greece is the lack of jobs and the hurdles that are in place for job creation. Greece is its own worst enemy. The laws in place do not lend to entrepreneurs which is ironic, due to the fact that every Greek I know in the states has some sort of business. Most have done relatively well for themselves. Greece has a highly educated population who is pretty internet savvy (I remember reading a survey that stated that Greece had one of the highest internet usage in Europe per person). Why not give them the tools to move forward?

The thing is Syriza is not totally wrong on some of their action points. The way they went about negotiations with no real, substantive reforms is what has led us to today. The way they lied to the public on promising them no austerity, no debt, etc...was wrong. Anybody can see that in order for Greece to be a sustainable country, reform is necessary. We can no longer fight it however they need to be implemented in a manner that would hurt those in need the least. I am afraid that Syriza's approach has alienated even our closest friends and now we are left on an island by ourselves.

His selection to the national team was based on merit. He could have turned the national team down and went to play for Albania, it was his choice. He's allowed to acknowledge his Albanian decent. Now if he could only play better.....

The flip side to all this and what makes us appreciate Greece are the everyday people who are very helpful and quite nice. I have had the cab driver who for some bizarre reason, did not want to do multiple drop offs for each passenger in the taxi even though he was being paid for the service (something about not being a bus driver). But the good far outweighs the bad. Red Sheriff is correct, the prices that are charged in Greece are far cheaper than the rest of western europe.

The ripping off of tourists is not just a phenomenon found in Greece. These types of things happen all over the world. In NYC, taxi cabs would routinely overcharge tourists especially from the airports. That is why they were forced to adopt fixed pricing. There was an article in the paper how some food vendors charged tourists $30 for a hotdog and coke. These things happen everywhere. I was in Rome talking to the owner of this boutique hotel I had stayed at. The minute it was time to leave, he said that he would hail me a cab (of course he couldn't help me with my bags because he has a bad back but that's another story). As I was walking to the cab, I heard him go up to the taxi driver and tell him we were Americans for no reason. There are always going to be those who look at tourists as easy pickings.

Rumored to be going to Roma.... http://www.sport24.gr/football/omades/Roma/pairnei-karnezh-h-roma.3469674.html

We play Scotland on Sunday and France on Wednesday.