As we discussed on Wednesday, Europe — and now at least one ratings agency — is doing its very best to trigger a terminal bank run in Greece and thereby deal the final, destabilizing blow to the country’s radical socialist saviors (Syriza) who, in the event the ATMs go dark or depositors end up Cyprus’d, would be forced to either concede to each and every Troika demand in order to get a deal (thus abandoning campaign promises and its entire mandate in the process) or risk social and political instability and the prospect that Greeks will eventually decide that a government of pandering technocrats beats starving any day of the week.Â
In this context we asked if perhaps it was time for Greeks to ask themselves if this is the kind of “European” partner they want to bind their fate to: a partner that will do everything in its power to subvert a democratically elected government, even if, or rather especially if, it means a wholesale “bail-in” for Greek depositors, who may lose as much as 70 cents on every euro.
We went on to say that after Greece is done soul searching, the people of Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland should ask the same question, because if we have a Grexit in two weeks, then these countries are next.
Well don’t look now, but Portugal’s Socialist Party (which leads in the polls ahead of an expected October election) is pledging to implement a “reverse policy” as it relates to austerity and relations with the Troika.
The Telegraph has more: