Paul Mason has left Channel 4 News.
Today is the Greek equivalent of Gettysburg. After the ECB agreed to extend emergency lending for Greek banks for only a few days, the Greeks have until tonight to reach a compromise deal.
Greece begins to cave in on a bailout deal offered by eurozone authorities, but Germany rejects the new proposal for an extension – so the poker game is not over.
Documents leaked to me last night shed new light, but not total clarity, on the dramatic breakdown of talks in Brussels over a new Greek bailout deal.
The Eurogroup finance ministers have just broken up without agreement over a programme on the Greek debt.
While Labour is tight lipped and ultra-orthodox at present, it is entirely possible to imagine the common ground of a Labour-SNP-Green coalition, or a “supply and confidence” type arrangement.
For the second time in 24 hours, Greek negotiators at the EU summit in Brussels, believe that Germany has stymied an agreement over extending their stricken country’s debt facility.
The mood in Greece, where massive demos took place, in support of the government, is best summed up by the placard held by one old man: “We survived ’41, we can survive this.”
As tax chiefs are reeling over criticism of their failure to track down tax avoiders in Switzerland, they now face another scandal, and another whistleblower, over HSBC’s operation in the UK.
Citing finance ministry sources, the website Left.gr have put detail into what they believe the Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has proposed to the Eurogroup:
Though the Greek PM is still talking tough, a Greek exit from the Eurozone is looking ever more possible. But a planned demonstration of public emotion could yet have the most impact of all.
The European Central Bank abruptly cancels its acceptance of Greek bonds in a bid to isolate the country until it strikes a new reform deal.
The battle over Greek debt comes down to politicians versus central bankers – and who is willing to call Syriza’s bluff.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis says Greece and Britain are determined to put an end to the “extended pretence cycle which has rendered Greece a festering wound on the side of the eurozone”.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tells Channel 4 News that “you will see in the next few hours, days the whole of Europe is going to bind together and do its job”.
Greece’s new Syriza-run government re-writes the timetable for dealing with its huge debts, saying to Europe’s money men: “go ahead punk – make my day”.