I have to admit that I was flummoxed by the political developments in Greece this week. After winning a referendum based on rejecting the Troika’s terms, Tsipras capitulated to those same terms—if anything, to somewhat harsher terms—less than a week later. I have given up believing that Syriza was executing a straightforward political strategy—negotiate to get less extreme conditions plus some debt relief—and can now see only 4 other interpretations:
- One of two Byzantine political strategies;
- Absolutely no strategy and chaos that appears Byzantine; or
- They were broken by the EU and have capitulated.
The Troika’s strategy, on the other hand, is pretty straightforward to interpret: an intention to either break Syriza or (preferably) force them out to office, to be replaced by a more compliant party; and an imposition of austerity for both moral reasons, and because, as Ordo-Liberals, they actually think that hard work and reform are all that are needed.…
Forbes
It's All Greek To Me: The Politics Of Syriza And The Troika Steve Keen