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AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis
Greece's newly sworn-in Prime Minister Antonis Samaras gestures to supporters after taking over from caretaker Prime Minister Panayiotis Pikramenos at Maximos Mansion in Athens.
ATHENS - A conservative-led Greek government has been agreed and will form a team to "renegotiate" the international bailout deal that would save the country from bankruptcy, the leader of one of the coalition parties said Wednesday.
Socialist PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos said his party would enter a three-way alliance with the larger conservative New Democracy and that cabinet posts would be decided by Wednesday evening.
He said the key issue would be to form a team to renegotiate the $164.79 billion bailout deal from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Greece avoids 'Drachmageddon' but Europe debt crisis remains
"Greece has a government and this is the message that the outgoing finance minister [George] Zanias will take to the Eurogroup," Venizelos told reporters.
Reuters said Antonis Samaras would meet President Karolos Papoulias later on Wednesday to announce the coalition deal, after which he expected to be sworn in as prime minister.
Greece appeared to have avoided crashing out of the euro currency zone early Monday after political parties in favor of an international bailout deal won a slim election majority – but the region's debt crisis showed no sign of abating. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
The opposition radical leftist bloc SYRIZA came second in the election and strongly opposes the bailout. A graph illustrating the results was published on the BBC website.
A Greek exit from the euro joint currency zone is still viewed as a possibility, despite a narrow majority for parties who are broadly in favor of a bailout, despite the inevitable tough austerity measures.
The Daily Telegraph reported that although public sector wages and pensions have been cut by 25-30 per cent since the country’s economic crisis took hold, thousands of redundancies have not taken place as promised, a privatization program has barely got off the ground and tax evasion remains endemic.
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Something tells me this story is far from over, to much corruption, to many people on gov't teet, most business taxed outta existance, how they even gonna make the interest payments..
You don't know Greece that well, because very few companies actually pay their taxes to begin with. This has been one of the problems in Greece from the get-go and they've never been able to enforce tax collection effectively.
But starting with Chile in 1973 clear up through Russia in 1989 and beyond, this is just another example of the Shock Doctrine being used to undermine the people and drive profits into the hands of the ultra-rich, and after 40 years you'd think that people would stop falling for it but it's happening anyway.
Greece is for sale on Ebay for $21 dollars.................should I go $22.........no think I will pass.
That's right. The problem is the little bit of capitalism that's left there. They need to be more socialist. They need to have more people dependent upon the government and expropriate the greedy corporations who make more than they spend, i.e. profit. It's not greedy to demand your right to other people's money. It's greedy to want to keep your own money. But that money doesn't belong to you anyway. The money belongs to the state and the state was nice enough to let you keep it. Greed should only exist in government, not in private industry. But then greed will cease to exist when the corporations are gone. When are you fools going to agree with me and witness the utopia of the state. I'm intellectually superior, but you wouldn't know that because you don't have the mental capacity to understand the concepts I espouse. Let the thinkers think and go back to cut your lawn you inbred consumer.
The main problem with Greece is that NOBODY is paying taxes.
They're playing fast and loose with the word "government" over there. Sounds more like a special needs kindergarten class. Good luck to any hard-working regular Greeks still left over there. Apologies to any special needs kindergarteners offended by my comparing them to Greek politicians
So what do they want to negotiate now? They, the Greek folks, are in no position to negotiate @!$%#. They need to be thankful to still be talked to after all the crap they started. Nothing to offer, need Billions to survive, but want to negotiate.
Let them bastards sink into the Mediterranean Sea.
They change governments so often, which one do they have this month?
"although public sector wages and pensions have been cut by 25-30 per cent since the country’s economic crisis took hold, thousands of redundancies have not taken place as promised, a privatization program has barely got off the ground and tax evasion remains endemic."
It takes more than 'talk' to solve their problems. The Germans went through their 'austerity' over the last decade, and now they are on a sound economic basis, but the Greeks seem to be fighting against themselves instead of just doing what's necessary. The sooner they address those old socialistic ideas, the less the pain will be, but they're still looking for 'the easy way out'.
When you ask for money from other people, they get to dictate the terms, so don't look for much success on 'renegotiating' the terms of the bailout.
gtouch "Greece is for sale on Ebay for $21 dollars.................should I go $22.........no think I will pass."
Didn't the Dutch pay $24 for Manhattan Island? That's a lot better deal.
And please - I know about how the Dutch got swindled on the deal.
Alan Pugh "But starting with Chile in 1973 clear up through Russia in 1989 and beyond, this is just another example of the Shock Doctrine being used to undermine the people and drive profits into the hands of the ultra-rich, and after 40 years you'd think that people would stop falling for it but it's happening anyway."
Simple solution - just stop borrowing and live within their means.
Renegotiate?????? They do not have any power to renegotiate anything. They are beggars seeking bread. They are not in a position of power. When are the Greeks going to learn this????
Breaking up Euro in two is still the best solution. These things just prolongs the inevitable. There has to be sound basis for any decisions. This is building a house on a rock without foundation.
I adore their salads!
No government as bloated as some of these European government can stand. As the population ages, and more and more of the public service employees retire to pensions whcih were underfunded, the only way for the government to survive is to raise taxes even further. At some point it all breaks down, because as the providers (tax payers) are outnumbered by those living from the government teat, the tipping point is reached. Much the same thing is going to happen here, and already is happening in some states such as California. Government and public service unions are trying to get more and more out of a dried up cow. Taxpayers should not be further penalized to provide a retirement for public service unions which is better than they can provide for themsleves. Gone are the days when someone can work 20 years at a job and retire to full benefits and health insurance. Self employed people cannot do this, and neither can the middle class who work for companies and are tasked with paying higher and higher taxes. We should be looking at what is going on in Greece and make changes now that will ensure we don't get there, if it is not already too late.
I know a retired Greek woman that still returns to Greece for a month every summer. She says that both business and personal tax evasion is the norm with no or little repercussion. And you wonder why the government is broke??
This three-way political orgy is doomed to fail....much too fragmented to survive. At the first speed bump, they'll dissolve quicker than sugar in water. I give 'em less than 6 months....
"tax evasion remains endemic" pretty much says it all. Greece, Italy, Spain, the U.S. of A., everywhere everyone wants all the benefits but want no part in paying for them.
How broke do we have to be to form a new government?
"A conservative-led Greek government has been agreed and will form a team to "renegotiate" the international bailout deal that would save the country from bankruptcy"
I could swear I just heard Angela Merkel say there will be no renegotiation. It seems that message has not yet sunk into the heads of the Greek leaders. How many times does Madame Merkel have to repeat herself before it sinks in?
Everything has to change from the ground up like Greece was a brand new country and that is not going to happen anytime soon. The government has new people but what makes them more effective than the previous? The whole retirement program has to be reworked completely. Tax collection has to be revamped and will the new "tax collectors" be as easily bribed as the previous? How can you raise taxes in a country with 25% unemployment and expect that to be part of the solution? Right now, unfortunately, Greece looks like a lost cause. They have a lot to prove in a short time and things are looking very, very grim.
Given the Greek election results of a month ago contrasted to this past weekend's results, I have to believe that election fraud is a possibility. Even if the conservatives and the socialists have somehow managed to find some common ground, that footing is very shaky at best, as the socialists will not continue to agree to support conservative ideals if there is not a great change in the terms of the most-recent bailout that helps to save tens of thousands of government jobs and greatly lessens any additional pain being levied on the Greek people, because of decades of graft on the part of wealthy individuals, corporations, and the Greek government itself.
If I was an investor in Greek bonds I would be very worried about the ability of the Greek government to service that debt given current economic reality on the ground in Greece today, where unemployment is extremely high, the Greek version of Social Security has been pared to the bone, and far more layoffs and bankruptcies await if the terms of the most-recent bailout are fully imposed too.
Their choice is a real bad migraine or terminal cancer, there is no pain free choice. They absolutely must accept austerity, it's what happens when you run out of other peoples money.
Again, austerity is not the cure for being broke, it is the result OF being broke. It is simply impossible to spend what you don't have.
"New Greece government agreed, says socialist party leader"
Blah, Blah, Blah, new day same old Greek BS. Why doesn't Greece do the rest of the world a favor and fall into the Mediterranean.
Common POS troll.
A band-aid at best; you just can't fix stupid which is why the US is not that far behind. grab your a$$ and say ( it's been nice knowing ya).
The mere fact that Greece is being offered a bailout is amazing in itself. They are broke. Flat broke!!! They have no way to pay back the bailout anyway. So, getting one is a miracle in itself. Germany is just paying off Greece's debt with the entire Country as collateral. But Germany, like other countries in the World, is a very closed society. They did not open their doors like America has. We are desperately trying to be the guiding light in the World and provide EVERYONE EVERYWHERE with a job. We don't even have enough jobs to provide to American citizens, yet, I live in Seattle and see a large majority of people from India working here as if we can't train our young American citizens to do the same work. Some Companies in the Country should be SHUT Down or heavily taxed. We should model ourselves after Germany and support our own and close the borders!!!
the outcome was never in question even before the polls opened
Hi Greeks, pay your taxes!
If Greek conservatives reduce jobs by retiring teachers, firemen, and policemen, then these "Austerity Measures" will certainly not help the economy. How can you spur an economy to work by removing jobs? The problem with the Greek economy is the lack of enough good paying jobs and too low taxes on the corporations to allow the economy to grow. If citizens cannot afford to buy local products, the money leaves the country! I am sorry the Conservatives won. If they are as stupid there as they are in the United States, hold on to your hats, folks.
Cutting jobs and decent wages do not result in economic stability! Reducing the amount of money in everyone's pockets except for the rich does not convince the rich to invest money into jobs that will not allow the workers to buy the products they create.
America is a perfect example of a creeping economy. The billionaires in America are doing quite well, but they refuse to invest in loans for start-up companies in sufficient amounts to create robust growth. The attacks on our unions, here in America, will continue to lower our wage standards. Private sector wages are a race to the bottom, with the person willing to work for the cheapest amount getting hired. Few workers will be able to earn enough to spend to make the economy grow!
Remember, corporations are in business to do one thing, only one thing, and that is make money. If people cannot buy their products, corporations will reduce our wages or move the company overseas, where labor costs are less.
Americans never saw wage increases after tripling our workloads in the last ten years. Our standards of living have gone down, not up!
Only when good times are shared by all, will any nation benefit from prosperity. Prosperity "only for the rich" is not a viable solution!
Corporate welfare is a long and winding road to ruin. In America, the Republicans ride the elephants that block our bridges, our schools, our healthcare, and claim to be the only solution. Look to America for what works and does not work. Do not follow us because a politician buys his election with corporate funds. No nation can survive when lobbyists run the nation. Conservatives, funded by Corporations, are nothing but puppets, who will not represent the population. VOTE THEM OUT!
More pathetic liberal lies. It is democrats who have run government for almost six years now. They inherited 4.6% unemployment and a booming economy and completely destroyed it. We sure as hell don't need four more years of the same.
Obama and his socialist crony's have declared war on capitalism and surprise, the jobs and money flee to friendlier shores. We made the mistake of handing over our capitalist economy over to a bunch of socialists. Hope and change doesn't cut it, never did.
And Obama didn't just recently swing a deal with the pharmaceutical companies? Oh, that's right, he's a democrit...that's different.
H-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e.
Phil,
Remember when the great Obama threatened to tax oversea's money when it came back to the U.S.? And what was the response? 'OK, we just won't bring it back to the U.S.
Good one Obambi.
toughluv = off topic political troll.
This is like our housing bailout. Let me spend money I don't have, then I can default on my loan, so I can get a better interest rate.
Previous "intelligent" bloggers that claim to know how economies work, refuse to understand that unless all citizens can have spare money to spend, the economy will not grow. Reducing welfare or Social Security benefits does not grow an economy. Money given to the needy, with the rate of return higher than the money invested(by the taxes created) is always superior to low cost loans to a banking industry that will not loan money!
Money given to the poor will be spent, thus growing an economy. Money given to the rich does nothing unless citizens are able to buy the products.
How can anyone believe that austerity (killing jobs and benefits to balance a budget) will ever balance an economy based on the rich getting more, while the citizens get nothing when times are good? Products and commodity prices go up, but our buying power goes down. Economies cannot self-sustain without the governments re-directing money by way of taxation to increase spending by the population when the economy takes a dip and jobs are lost.
In America, politicians in the States, who removed all the public sector jobs, are in worse condition now than they were before those jobs were reduced. Why? Because less citizens working requires more government funds for unemployment benefits. These folks, who were working, made fair wages and spent most of them on homes and food and cars and energy needs, and kept the states generating government taxes. Loss of jobs equals loss of taxes every time. Loss of the government's ability to keep the economy growing is why nations fail. Government is not the problem! Government can be the solution! Who is in power can be the problem!
George Bush, Republican President, started multiple unfunded wars, increased benefits without funding, and increased tax breaks for the rich and the poor without funding, as well. Did this spur the economy on? No. It crashed our economy. The States increased public sector jobs, but he outspent the benefits from it.
Why? Because the Republican belief that government is an obstacle to growth is an unfounded belief they refuse to walk away from. Republicans have tried, for decades, to impose this philosophy on our nation and it has failed us every time.
Romney promises to continue the folly if elected this fall. He has no plans that will increase jobs and raise needed taxes on those that can afford to pay them. The Tea Party activists he serves demand it!
Our government cannot help state economies if there are no funds, except from foreign loans from China, where our current factories have relocated. Indeed, Romney has his own money offshore in hidden accounts in Switzerland and the Caymann Islands. What kind of an American president can he be, when he cannot trust our own country to use the taxes on his money to contribute to our national welfare? Indeed, would you trust him at the helm of your nation?
Austerity programs that punish the poor do not raise a nation from poverty! They never have! They never will! The reason any nation fails is just like the reason any company fails! It is not the workers or the poor that cause it to fail! It is the bad management of resources.
Even in the wild, there has to be a balance between predators and their food supply! The food supply needs food, too.
Democrats in our country know that by everyone working for living wages, all boats rise with the tides.
Republicans do not get paid to believe in this alternative reality. Sadly, because of the need for corporations to grow profits every single year, they have to "be blind" to see that higher paid jobs which allow more production might net them more profits in the long run, but during economic shortfalls might result in them getting fired because of stockholder demands that they increase profits every single year. So lowering wages is the easiest way to do that. Or shipping the company to a slave labor country is what they will do. It's quick! It's dirty! It's profitable! But is it American?
Republican endorse this slimy race to the bottom and are handsomely paid to say "they have the best plan". Can you not see where our nation shall surely go if Republicans gain even more power over our futures?
Bloggers who claim to be intelligent seldom are.
You know only a really, really dumb country would elect a Socialist when in deep debt.....oh and Greece did also!
IS Valhalla just a troll, probably filled with Rushfacts or employed by the Koch Brothers to attack anyone that dares speak the truth to him? With no facts, he blames Obama for everything the Republicans have done in the states and blocked from legislation in Congress. Is he an uneducated sad sack that doesn't have the inclination to do anything but spew hate at anyone that disagrees with him? Maybe he a valuable asset to the corporate masters on his side of the aisle. His careful attention to the Carl Rove talking points from FOX news and CNN may give him a warm and fuzzy feeling as he gazes upon their cute announcers, but they do not make him any smarter, nor do they make him an asset to this nation!
Obama did not get us into this ditch! Your Republicans got us here! Is your short term memory corrupted with OXYCONTIN, too? You have no facts to support your claims except your beliefs that the media, in it for the money, would never lie to you. You are a perfect fit for the Republican Party.
Have a nice day!
No. The democrits got us here. Everything started to go down the crapper when Pelosi and Co. took control of congress in 2006. Remember Barney Frank telling the Bush administration in 2002 that "there is no need to investigate Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac"?
Denial. You are a perfect fit for a democrit.
What are you smoking down at the Union hall?
If there is a problem with socialists, it is that they negotiate with conservatives that refuse to do anything but line the pockets of the rich.
No the problem is that they (socialists) are basically like little children who were spoiled. They cry about what someone else has, wanting their parent (ie, the government) to take away from the one who have and give it to them. They think they are the only ones with hardships, and that they deserve someone to bail them out when they get into trouble. In essence, they know nothing of self responsibility. Everytime I see a kid in the grocery store crying until his mother hands him the candy he wants, I think, "Oh well, there goes another one we will have to feed and clothe." As a person who is self employed, who had to finance my own way through college and grad school, and continue to pay for my education, exactly how much do you think is my "fair share" when it comes to paying taxes to provide for you and your ilk?
Roy Wilson claims that Germany's austerity measures resolved their problems. What Roy Wilson forgot to tell you is that the austerity measures made things worse, and they got rid of those measures, and rebounded. But leave it to the Roy Wilson, who doesn't know a single fact, to present us with his profound knowledge! Nice going pal.
Renegotiate? That's all I needed to hear.