1. The Eurogroup of the 20th of February was the end of the first (short) round of negotiations between the new Greek government and its European partners.
2. To judge what the government won and what it lost, as well as what it did not win and what it did not lose, we have to take into account three things: the conditions under which the negotiation took place, the goals that each side tried to achieve, the alternative choices. 3. How many sides were actually negotiating around the table? The answer is: Very many. The outcome, but equally importantly, the interim stages of the negotiating process, included important stakes not only for Greece and Germany, but for each and every one of the 17 Eurozone countries. However, even the approach that reduces the stakes involved at the level of “national interests”, is misleading. In reality, the FInMins of all participating elected governments were negotiating the politics (and the relative power) of their respective governments, in the same way that the European Commission was negotiating its politics (and its relative power) through J-C Junker, the ECB through M. Draghi, and the IMF through C. Lagarde. 4. Schauble’s extreme aggression was indicative of the pressure that the German government was facing in its effort to safeguard the primacy of its own view of the crisis, as well as the continuation of the austerity policies. It was also indicative of its effort to maintain important players bound to its project. For this reason, the stance of France and Italy were of particular importance. The cracks that could be achieved by the Greek government –at this stage- mainly came from this side, rather than from the side of the “southern front” (Spain, Portugal, Ireland), which was perfectly aligned with the German lead, in view of a possible rise of the Left in their respective countries. In a sense, the game they chose to play was even more dangerous. Their choice to identify with the German strategy was clearly against the interests of their own people, meaning that, as long as Greece is able to ensure even small victories, the pressure on them will grow full: http://www.analyzegreece.gr/topics/left-goverment/item/137-elena-papadopoulou-10-points-on-the-eurogroup-decision-of-the-20th-february-on-greece _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
