The long-warned Fourth Reich is coming and Greece, while not completely innocent itself, is likely to fall victim of a new rising empire that wishes to turn it into a vassal state. Also, mentioned many times is that the most likely solution for Europe is not a break-up, but rather a dual economy. The dual economy will have a core comprising of the wealthy nations running the show while the periphery will contain the downtrodden who will import all the factory jobs to keep them socially satisfied so long as they have employment and widgets to crank out. The EU and Eurozone may not be around for long, but it will be rebuilt, restructured and resemble a United States of Europe. It’s all a controlled meltdown designed to fail in order to achieve the goal of becoming a world superpower. Create the crisis and provide the solution — by force if necessary.
We’ve said repeatedly that negotiations between Greece and the troika are just as much about politics as they are about economics although, in the final analysis the two are inextricably related especially as it relates to the anti-austerity contagion in the EU. In “Democracy Under Fire: Troika Looks To Force Greek Political ‘Reshuffle’” we said the following about the “institutions’” bargaining stance:
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Syriza show will ultimately have to be canceled in Greece (or at least recast) if the country intends to find a long-term solution that allows for stable relations with European creditors, but as we’ve noted before, it may be time for Greeks to ask themselves if binding their fate to Europe is in their best interests given that some EU creditors seem to be perfectly fine with inflicting untold economic pain upon everyday Greeks if it means usurping the ‘radical leftists.’
…
With negotiations running into the eleventh hour ahead of a Friday IMF payment and with everyone’s patience running dangerously thin, it appears as though the situation described above is playing out almost to a tee.
On Sunday, PM Alexis Tsipras penned a lengthy statement expressing his frustration at creditors’ insistence on presenting what he calls “absurd proposals” even as the Greek delegation has gone most of the way towards meeting the troika’s demands. He also questions the utility of the “coordinated” leaks from certain EU and IMF officials regarding a lack of progress, hitting back against those who have in the past advised the Greek government against leaking statements to the press and tacitly suggesting that there is indeed a behind-the- scenes effort to spark a terminal bank run in order to force Syriza into conceding its entire mandate (something we’ve said time and again). Here are the highlights:
…
It is due to the insistence of certain institutional actors on submitting absurd proposals and displaying a total indifference to the recent democratic choice of the Greek people, despite the public admission of the three Institutions that necessary flexibility will be provided in order to respect the popular verdict.
What is driving this insistence?
My conclusion… is that the issue of Greece does not only concern Greece; rather, it is the very epicenter of conflict between two diametrically opposing strategies concerning the future of European unification.
The first strategy aims to deepen European unification in the context of equality and solidarity between its people and citizens.
The second strategy seeks precisely this: The split and the division of the Eurozone, and consequently of the EU.
The first step to accomplishing this is to create a two-speed Eurozone where the “core” will set tough rules regarding austerity and adaptation and will appoint a “super” Finance Minister of the EZ with unlimited power, and with the ability to even reject budgets of sovereign states that are not aligned with the doctrines of extreme neoliberalism.
For those countries that refuse to bow to the new authority, the solution will be simple: Harsh punishment. Mandatory austerity. And even worse, more restrictions on the movement of capital, disciplinary sanctions, fines and even a parallel currency.
Judging from the present circumstances, it appears that this new European power is being constructed, with Greece being the first victim. To some, this represents a golden opportunity to make an example out of Greece for other countries that might be thinking of not following this new line of discipline.
Full article: Defiant Tsipras Warns European Leaders They Are “Making A Grave Mistake” (Zero Hedge)
Global Geopolitics 