In These New Times

If, as is widely rumoured, the IMF intervened to wreck negotiations between the Greek government and European institutions the the real question Europeans should be voting on is one of European sovereignty. What the hell is the IMF doing in what should be an internal European issue? The question , of course, is purely rhetorical: they are there to oversee Wall Street/City of London interests. Unlike China and the merging BRICS, these interests are not pro-European in terms of supporting European integration. Rather they support a neo-liberal Europe, that is, a Europe a Europe which fragments along lines determined by “the market”. You have only to read the press, almost entirely under their control, to see this. They will also be quite happy with the Left’s superficial anti-imperialist rhetoric concerning Greek relations with Germany: it’s all grist to the mill. Once again, as in Kosovo, as in Libya, as in Ukraine, Europe’s inability to break free of Wall Street tutelage is causing Europe to shoot itself in the foot, if not the heart. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, negotiations will resume and the effect of Tsipra’s gambit may be salutary if the lesson is learnt and the IMF are shown the door.

Telegraph

29th June, 2015

Apparently, there was the basis for a deal at some stage last week; but then at the last moment, in comes the International Monetary Fund to say that the conditions were not enough, and insist on the addition of a whole series of demands on pensions reform that were bound to be unacceptable to Greece’s Syriza-led government.

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