November, 01 2011, 03:12pm EDT
Greek Government "Blackmailing" Public
WASHINGTON
COSTAS PANAYOTAKIS, cpanayotakis at gmail.com
Panayotakis is associate professor of sociology at the New York City College of Technology at CUNY and author of the forthcoming book "Remaking Scarcity: From Capitalist Inefficiency to Economic Democracy." He said today: "Faced with escalating opposition and resistance to the austerity measures it has imposed on the Greek population ever since the IMF and EU-backed bailout 18 months ago, the Greek government has announced a referendum on the latest European deal, which includes a new bailout for Greece as well as a voluntary 50 percent haircut for the country's privately held debt.
"The fact that a second bailout has become necessary is a sign of the first bailout's failure, thus further fueling the feeling of the Greek public that its sacrifices are leading to nowhere. As a poll and a wave of protests late last week showed, people's first reaction to the new deal is not positive, so the Greek government is desperately trying to cling to power by blackmailing citizens that, if they don't approve the deal and the new austerity measures it will imply, Greece will have to declare bankruptcy and leave the eurozone. This latest development has caught officials and observers outside Greece by surprise, leading to new economic volatility and making the European deal announced last week even more shaky than it already was."
See Panayotakis's articles: "Youth in Revolt" and "Greeks on the Move: Capitalism's Wreckage and the Demand for Real Democracy"
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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