Greece heads for make-or-break elections as talks fail • Last-ditch talks over unity government collapse • Fears Greece could run out of funds • Bank run worries as €700m withdrawn since May 6 • IMF: Greek euro exit would be 'messy' • Eurozone economy avoids recession, just • Hollande meets Merkel, after lightning strike Greece's leaders met, again, today. They couldn't reach a deal. So now Greece heads back to the polls. Photograph: Aris Messinis/AP 7.15pm: Time to wind things up after a dramatic day in the eurozone. Here's a closing summary. Greece's membership of the eurozone hangs in the balance after attempts to form a unity government failed. The five leaders of Greece's main political parties met again in Athens, but failed to back a "technocratic government" that could have led the country. A second general election must now be held, which will be an effective referendum on the country's future, and that of the eurozone. The warring political leaders blamed each other for the collapse, with Evangelos Venizelos of the socialist Pasok party slamming "arrogance, petty party politics and opportunism". World leaders warned Greece that it cannot continue to receive its aid package unless it meets its obligations. Stock markets fell again, as fears of a disorderly exit from the eurozone grew again. The main indices all lost ground, while the euro fell as low as $1.2742 against the dollar tonight, and hit its lowest level against the pound since November 2008. Tensions in Greece escalated. A protest in Syntagma Square was broken up, while it emerged tonight that €700m had been withdrawn from Greek banks since the last general election. The eurozone dodged recession, by posting flat GDP in the first three months of 2012. The better-than-expected performance was mainly due to Germany, which beat estimates with a 0.5% increase in GDP. France was flat, while Italy shrank by 0.8%. The data showed how a two-speed Europe is gathering pace. Other weaker members of the eurozone continued to suffer. Spain asked for other euro members to do more to help it through the crisis, while in Italy frustrated firms threatened to sue the government unless it paid its bills. What a day. Do check out tonight's new live blog on the meeting between François Hollande and Angela Merkel. I'll be back tomorrow morning, lightning strikes permitting, for another day of drama. Until then, goodnight, and thank you. more-- http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/may/15/eurozone-crisis-gdp-greek-government-talks
The EuroZone crisis led to votes for the "far-left" and the "far-right" in the first place: unsurprisingly, these groups were unable to form a coalition government - which now leads to... more elections? It's pretty satisfying to see the birthplace of Democracy being utterly gutted by Democracy.
Greeks have been living of weeds and sea creatures since before the time of Christ.They laughed off the Romans and Germans; and only recently became these soft dependent creatures that have evolved.
Holding up Athens as 'the birthplace of Democracy' is a fairly recent bit of propaganda. Certainly no newer than the 'Greek Revival' era (1820s), and the story-telling that went on in German Liberal Universities (the direct ancestor of our sort), in the 19th century, esp. after the failed revolutions of 1848. The American Founding Fathers would have been horrified to see their Republic turn into a 'Democracy'. Persons who read the Classics *also* read the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Spoiler alert: It's a lot more depressing when you know the ending....