Georgios Karatzaferis…resigned at 2.00 pm today
Schauble’s power-play explodes in his face
Far Right leader of the Greek Party LAOS, said in the last hour that he will not support the newly added EU austerity being demanded by Berlin. Withdrawing his signature from yesterday’s Venizelos Agreement, he confirmed that he “will not approve any new debt deal”. The German demands led by Bundesrepublik Finance Minister seem also to have triggered a letter from the Greek police force to leading Troika and EU figures, excerpts from which are as follows:
“….Since you are continuing this destructive policy, we warn you that you cannot make us fight against our brothers. We refuse to stand against our parents, our brothers, our children or any citizen who protests and demands a change of policy….We warn you that as legal representatives of Greek policemen, we will issue arrest warrants for a series of legal violations … such as blackmail, covertly abolishing or eroding democracy and national sovereignty…..”
Shortly after midday GMT, the Greek Police fired teargas at youths throwing stones and petrol bombs in central Athens. Also today, another transport strike is raging throughout the country. And this morning, Pasok MP Pavlos Stasinos resigned his parliamentary seat in disagreement over the additional Schauble package. Soon after Laos leader Georgios Karatzaferis said he would not vote in favour “any end euro bailout agreement” one of his four coalition cabinet members, Asterios Rontoulis, also resigned from the government. Karatzaferis himself ended a press conference with he words, “Greece won’t fall. There’s no chance … We say no to foreign rule. We say yes to dialogue.”
Although the police would need a judge’s approval for arrest warrants to be issued, a Slog source in Greece said this afternoon that pliant judges “would not be hard to find”. She added that the Karatzaferis reference to ‘foreign rule’ was a clear swipe at Berlin.
I’m just being told that the Greek Cabinet, which was scheduled to meet at 2pm GMT, will now sit at 4pm. This lumps an enormous responsibility onto PM Papademos, will have to work out what he is going to do about the four Laos ministers in his cabinet who are likely to vote against the agreement. Observers are very concerned about alienating Laos, whose support has grown while Pasok’s has slumped. Equally if not more concerning is the surge of support for the Far Left.
Earlier at The Slog: Sources convinced Wolfgang Schauble wants orderly Greece default within ezone
The Slog 