Greek Minister: Poison of Troika Austerity Fueling Rise of Nazi Party

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/02/06/greek-minister-poison-troika-austerity-fueling-rise-nazi-party



People gather for an anti-austerity demonstration outside the Greek parliament in Athens February 5, 2015. About 4,000 people gathered for an anti-austerity demonstration in Athens' central Syntagma Square on Thursday but in sharp contrast with previous violent protests there were no barricades and barely any police. Thursday's protest was called to support the new government's tough stance with the EU, with whom it is seeking an end to the stringent budget rules.

Greek Minister: Poison of Troika Austerity Fueling Rise of Nazi Party
Jon Queally, staff writer
Friday, February 06, 2015

Revealing the distance that still remains between the Greek and German governments when it comes to renegotiating terms of the bailout program, a meeting between the nation's financial ministers in Berlin on Thursday was punctuated by the acknowledgement that the two could not, in fact, even "agree to disagree" and a warning from the new Syriza government that without a loosening of austerity, fascist forces will almost surely rise.

"We didn’t come to an agreement," said Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, recently appointed to the post after Syriza swept into power during national elections last month. "We couldn’t even agree to disagree. We agreed to continue consultations as partners. Our solution will have Europe’s interest as a priority."

He continued: "We did not reach agreement because it was never on the cards that we would... We didn’t discuss the debt, but we set the framework for discussions."

For his part, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble indicated that his nation would remain steadfast in its belief that Greece must adhere to the terms agreed to by the previous government, despite the fact that Syriza was elected on clear promises to renegotiate those terms. Without apology, Syriza has said the austerity measures attached to loans offered by the so-called Troika—the IMF, European Central Bank, and the EU—are crushing its economy and the Greek people and must be reversed.

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The rhetoric volume continues to increase between Greece and Germany - I suspect this will be a bumpy ride.