Court had previously struck down ruling party’s auction of broadcast permits
The Wall Street Journal
By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Nov. 10, 2016 2:41 p.m. ET
0 COMMENTS
ATHENS—Greece’s government and opposition late on Thursday broke an impasse toward the regulation of the country’s television sector, after they formed an independent media watchdog that will now take responsibility for organizing the new licensing procedure.
The presidents of the parliament reached a cross-party consent in the appointment of the nine-member body of the National Council for Radio and Television. The number of the licenses that will be auctioned will be decided by the new independent authority.
"Ό,τι η ψυχή επιθυμεί, αυτό και πιστεύει." Δημοσθένης (Whatever the soul wishes, thats what it believes, Demosthenes)
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2016
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Trump promised Brexit ‘times five.’ He delivered.
The Washinhton Post
By Adam Taylor November 9 at 11:22 AM
As Donald Trump's campaign progressed, Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union was clearly on his mind.
“They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!” Trump tweeted in August, prompting a somewhat confused response. He soon upped the ante — telling supporters at rallies in October that the U.S. presidential election would be “Brexit plus” and “Brexit times five.”
It was certainly possible to see the similarities in the two campaigns. Both Trump fans and Brexiters tended to be people who scorned the status quo and held negative views about globalization, immigration and political correctness. Often they wanted to upend the system and evinced a desire to bring their respective countries back to greatness.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Dollar strengthens as election seen swinging toward Clinton
Mon Nov 7, 2016 | 3:10pm EST
Reuters
By Dion Rabouin | NEW YORK
The dollar rose on Monday after the FBI decided that U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges, which was seen as a boost to her chances of winning Tuesday's contest with Republican rival Donald Trump.
The greenback gained 0.75 percent against a basket of currencies .DXY after getting hammered last week when FBI Director James Comey said the agency was looking at another large batch of Clinton emails, strengthening chances of a Trump victory, an outcome that was seen as likely to send shock waves through financial markets.
Reuters
By Dion Rabouin | NEW YORK
The dollar rose on Monday after the FBI decided that U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges, which was seen as a boost to her chances of winning Tuesday's contest with Republican rival Donald Trump.
The greenback gained 0.75 percent against a basket of currencies .DXY after getting hammered last week when FBI Director James Comey said the agency was looking at another large batch of Clinton emails, strengthening chances of a Trump victory, an outcome that was seen as likely to send shock waves through financial markets.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
An economist who was in the middle of the storm recounts Greece’s financial crisis
The Boston Globe
By Jonathan Schlefer
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT NOVEMBER 01, 2016
When economist George Papaconstantinou returned to Greece after working for a decade at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, he settled into a series of comfortable government and academic jobs. Then, to his surprise, PASOK, the social-democratic party, asked him to run for Parliament. He lost the first time but won in 2007. He also began advising the party leader, George Papandreou, on economic issues. Named PASOK’s press spokesman, he helped give the party a fresh, young image, contributing to its landslide election victory in 2009.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Greece’s Syriza Defiant After Judges Annul Key Policy
Country’s supreme administrative court rules government acted unconstitutionally by licensing TV broadcasters itself
The Wall Street Journal
By MARCUS WALKER and NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Updated Oct. 27, 2016 4:27 a.m. ET
ATHENS—Greece’s ruling Syriza party vowed on Thursday to continue fighting for its radical agenda after judges struck down its plan to revamp Greece’s media sector, the culmination of a weekslong power struggle that produced allegations of blackmail and “fascist” methods.
Greece’s supreme administrative court, the Council of State, ruled late Wednesday that the government, led by the left-wing Syriza party, acted unconstitutionally by licensing TV broadcasters itself, a power that the constitution reserves for an independent media regulator.
The Wall Street Journal
By MARCUS WALKER and NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Updated Oct. 27, 2016 4:27 a.m. ET
ATHENS—Greece’s ruling Syriza party vowed on Thursday to continue fighting for its radical agenda after judges struck down its plan to revamp Greece’s media sector, the culmination of a weekslong power struggle that produced allegations of blackmail and “fascist” methods.
Greece’s supreme administrative court, the Council of State, ruled late Wednesday that the government, led by the left-wing Syriza party, acted unconstitutionally by licensing TV broadcasters itself, a power that the constitution reserves for an independent media regulator.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Greece awaits Obama trip amid tough bailout talks
The Washington Post
By Derek Gatopoulos | AP October 25 at 12:08 PM
ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s government says it was facing pressure from the International Monetary Fund to aggressively scale back union powers and employment rights, as the White House confirmed Tuesday that U.S. President Barack Obama will pay a post-election visit to Athens.
Obama’s Nov. 15 trip could boost efforts by the left-wing government in Athens to press for debt relief from European bailout lenders, as the country’s national debt approaches 180 percent of Greece’s stagnant gross domestic product. Obama will travel on to Germany after his Greek visit.
Labels:
Geopolitics,
Greece,
Politics,
SYRIZA,
US Elections,
USA
Monday, October 24, 2016
What is China’s plenum and why does it matter?
Oct 23rd 2016, 23:27 BY J.P. | BEIJING
The Economist
THE 200-odd highest-ranking members of China’s Communist Party—its central committee—meet only once a year. The closed-door gathering is called a plenum. This year’s starts today, October 24th, in Beijing and runs until the 27th. The agenda does not sound consequential. It will discuss, in the unlovely words of the official announcement, “the norms of political life within the party…and a revision to an intra-party supervision regulation.” So why does it matter?
The Economist
THE 200-odd highest-ranking members of China’s Communist Party—its central committee—meet only once a year. The closed-door gathering is called a plenum. This year’s starts today, October 24th, in Beijing and runs until the 27th. The agenda does not sound consequential. It will discuss, in the unlovely words of the official announcement, “the norms of political life within the party…and a revision to an intra-party supervision regulation.” So why does it matter?
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Greece’s Least Wanted Man Lives in Maryland
Andreas Georgiou fixed the country’s fake stats, now he faces criminal charges.
Robert Schmidt
Bloomberg Businessweek
For 21 years, Andreas Georgiou worked in relative obscurity as an economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. When the European debt crisis hit and his home country of Greece began teetering toward bankruptcy, Georgiou felt a patriotic urge to help. In early 2010 he applied online to run a newly created office designed to clean up Greece’s much maligned economic statistics. He got the job, and in August 2010 he moved to Greece for a five-year term as president of the Hellenic Statistical Authority.
Labels:
Economy,
Greek Crisis,
Politics,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Greece’s Alexis Tsipras Seeks to Revive his Political Fortunes on Economic Promises
Europe’s most electorally successful populist has become nearly as unpopular as the Greek political establishment he ousted almost two years ago
The Wall Street Journal
By NEKTARIA STAMOULI and MARCUS WALKER
Sept. 11, 2016 2:15 p.m. ET
THESSALONIKI, Greece—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, languishing in polls, sought to reboot his premiership over the weekend. But his economically depressed country has largely given up hope on the imminent change he is promising.
Europe’s most electorally successful populist has become nearly as unpopular as the Greek political establishment he ousted almost two years ago. A recent survey showed only 19% of Greeks view him favorably and 85% are dissatisfied with his government.
Syriza Strains Greece’s Credibility
The country’s hard-left government continues to put politics before reform.
The Wall Street Journal
By YANNIS PALAIOLOGOS
Sept. 7, 2016 3:23 p.m. ET
Independent institutions remain anathema to the government in Greece. Two cases that have dominated the headlines in recent weeks demonstrate how the country’s populist government, led by the hard-left Syriza party, continues to put politics before reform and refuses to learn the right lessons from the country’s recent past.
The criminal case against economist Andreas Georgiou returned to the spotlight last month when it was reopened by the country’s Supreme Court. A longtime official with the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Georgiou had been appointed six years ago to head the independent Hellenistic Statistical Authority, or Elstat. The prime minister at the time, George Papandreou, created Elstat as a response to the discovery that the government under his predecessor, Costas Karamanlis, had underreported the country’s fiscal deficit.
Did Hillary Clinton just make her own ‘47 percent’ gaffe?
The Washington Post
By Aaron Blake September 10 at 2:11 PM
Update: Clinton has expressed "regret" for using the word "half." See her statement at the bottom of this post.
Hillary Clinton said Friday night in New York that half of Donald Trump's supporters are racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic and/or Islamophobic.
At an "LGBT for Hillary" fundraiser, where Barbra Streisand performed, Clinton expanded on previous comments about many Trump supporters falling into a "basket of deplorables" that includes the groups listed above.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Mitsotakis' mission: Saving Greece from Tsipras
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of the Greek conservative party Nea Dimokratia, says he wants to "liberate" Greece from left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. He tells DW how he intends to accomplish this.
Deutche Welle
If Greece were to hold elections tomorrow, the pro-European conservatives Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy, ND) would clearly win. According to polls, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has headed his party since January, has gained popularity. Many believe he would be a better prime minister than Alexis Tsipras.
The pro-European and neoliberal Mitsotakis, a scion of a Greek political dynasty, holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford. He has worked in politics and investment banking. His father, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, is a former Greek prime minister and his older sister, Dora Bakoyannis, former mayor of Athens, also served as Greek foreign minister and culture minister.
Deutche Welle
If Greece were to hold elections tomorrow, the pro-European conservatives Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy, ND) would clearly win. According to polls, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has headed his party since January, has gained popularity. Many believe he would be a better prime minister than Alexis Tsipras.
The pro-European and neoliberal Mitsotakis, a scion of a Greek political dynasty, holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford. He has worked in politics and investment banking. His father, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, is a former Greek prime minister and his older sister, Dora Bakoyannis, former mayor of Athens, also served as Greek foreign minister and culture minister.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Five Things to Know About China’s ‘Two Sessions’
Charlie Campbell / Beijing @charliecamp6ell 1:29 AM ET
TIME
China's ruling elite gather for their yearly double shindig
China’s governing class descends on Beijing this week for the nation’s top two annual political meetings. The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top political advisory body, begins Thursday, with the main event, the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s anodyne legislature, kicking off on Saturday.
The “two sessions,” as they are colloquially known in China, are an important bellwether for assessing government policy in a one-party state where most decisions take place behind firmly closed doors. Around 3,000 provincial administrators, top businessmen and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bigwigs are expected to attend.
TIME
China's ruling elite gather for their yearly double shindig
China’s governing class descends on Beijing this week for the nation’s top two annual political meetings. The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top political advisory body, begins Thursday, with the main event, the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s anodyne legislature, kicking off on Saturday.
The “two sessions,” as they are colloquially known in China, are an important bellwether for assessing government policy in a one-party state where most decisions take place behind firmly closed doors. Around 3,000 provincial administrators, top businessmen and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bigwigs are expected to attend.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Politics Risk Tripping Up Greece on Debt Relief
By STEPHEN
FIDLER
Updated
Jan. 15, 2015 5:26 p.m. ET
2 COMMENTS
Does Greece need
debt relief? Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing Syriza Party and the man
who could be Greece ’s
next prime minister, says it does.
“There is
no single sensible person in the whole of Europe who seriously thinks that Greece ’s debt
is sustainable and must be repaid in full,” he said in a speech on Tuesday.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Greek MPs' vote triggers snap poll
BBC
29 December
2014 Last updated at 10:41 GMT
Greek MPs have rejected the presidential
candidate nominated by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, triggering a snap
general election.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
RPT-INSIGHT-Greek premier prepared European ground before vote gamble
Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:08am EST
ATHENS ,
Dec 17 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has bet on Greece 's future
with an early vote for the presidency. But in contrast to a recent predecessor,
he made sure before dropping the bombshell that Berlin
and Brussels
wouldn't stand in the way.
* Early
presidential vote surprised Greek establishment
* But
Samaras discussed plans with Berlin , Brussels
*
Government candidate falls short in first round
* Previous
premier caused uproar with referendum plan
By Renee
Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas
Friday, December 12, 2014
Greece and the euro
Crisis
revisited
The
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21636036-euro-still-vulnerable-and-greece-not-only-problem-crisis-revisited
The euro is
still vulnerable, and Greece
is not the only problem
Dec 13th 2014
IT WAS almost
exactly five years ago that the euro crisis erupted, starting in Greece .
Investors who had complacently let all euro-zone countries borrow at uniformly
low levels abruptly woke up to the riskiness of an incompetent government
borrowing money in a currency which it could not depreciate. There is thus a
dismal symmetry in seeing the euro crisis flare up again in the place where it
began.
Greece and the euro
Crisis
revisited
The
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21636036-euro-still-vulnerable-and-greece-not-only-problem-crisis-revisited
The euro is
still vulnerable, and Greece
is not the only problem
Dec 13th 2014
IT WAS almost
exactly five years ago that the euro crisis erupted, starting in Greece .
Investors who had complacently let all euro-zone countries borrow at uniformly
low levels abruptly woke up to the riskiness of an incompetent government
borrowing money in a currency which it could not depreciate. There is thus a
dismal symmetry in seeing the euro crisis flare up again in the place where it
began.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Samaras Names Hardouvelis New Greek Finance Minister
By Nikos
Chrysoloras and Paul Tugwell Jun 10,
2014 10:35 AM GMT+0300
(Corrects
debt-to-GDP figure in second paragraph, spokeswoman in fifth.)
Greek Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras named Gikas Hardouvelis as the country’s new finance
minister, replacing Yannis Stournaras in a cabinet overhaul.
Hardouvelis
will try to lead the debt-stricken nation out of a six-year recession and
strike a deal with euro-area member states later this year on relieving some of
Greece ’s
debt burden. Debt is forecast to peak in 2014 at 177.2 percent of gross
domestic product according to the latest review of the country’s bailout
program.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Greek journalist-turned-politician rides anti-establishment wave
BY DEEPA
BABINGTON AND RENEE MALTEZOU
ATHENS Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:11am EDT
(Reuters) -
A television journalist-turned-political crusader promising to shake up Greek
politics is winning unexpectedly strong support from voters in the run-up to
European elections in May.
Tapping
into the disgust felt by many Greeks against established politicians with a
call for a grassroots, youth-led movement to solve Greek problems, Stavros
Theodorakis has quickly snapped up followers from both the left and the right.
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