
Spain is facing political chaos after yesterday’s election produced no clear winner and saw a surge in support for the far-left. The governing conservative People’s Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy remains the largest party but fell well short of
by Nick Hallett21 Dec 2015, 6:21 AM PST0

Greek unions are holding their second general strike in less than a month Thursday, this time against a planned social security overhaul that could enforce new pension cuts. The labour ministry is working on a new system under which state-guaranteed
by AFP3 Dec 2015, 1:23 AM PST0

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged listeners at the UN General Assembly Thursday to avoid “the same old recipes” to solve conflicts, and warned against “unilateral action” to solve problems like the civil war in Syria, which may put Tsipras at odds with his Russian allies.
by Frances Martel1 Oct 2015, 9:23 AM PST0

Greece’s Former Deputy Infrastructure and Transport Minister Dimitris Kammenos failed to last 24 hours in the job, as his appointment by leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was immediately followed by the resurfacing of a number of offensive anti-Semitic tweets, including one implying Jews were responsible for the September 11 attacks in America.
by Frances Martel25 Sep 2015, 6:45 PM PST0

Contents: Ben Carson’s statement about Muslim President revives JFK Catholic controversy; Syriza wins election in Greece, on eve of drastic new reforms
by John J. Xenakis21 Sep 2015, 4:00 AM PST0

ATHENS, Greece — The official projection of final results in Greece’s early election shows the left-wing Syriza party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras winning with 35.5 percent, but falling short of enough parliamentary seats to form a government on
by AP20 Sep 2015, 11:21 AM PST0

As Greece braces for parliamentary elections on September 20, ruling Radical Left party Syriza finds itself slipping in the polls and possibly handing the nation back to the center-right, chasing an ever-elusive youth vote.
by Frances Martel16 Sep 2015, 10:00 PM PST0

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras played down fears on Sunday that a snap election in two weeks would produce a fractured result, saying there were enough undecided voters to produce a clear winner on the day. Tsipras resigned last
by Reuters6 Sep 2015, 2:34 AM PST0

From Reuters: Former Greek premier Alexis Tsipras urged supporters on Saturday to give him a mandate to complete the country’s political transformation, as a poll showed his leftist Syriza party’s lead slipping ahead of elections next month. Tsipras abruptly resigned
by Reuters29 Aug 2015, 7:04 AM PST0

The left-wing Syriza party says Yanis Varoufakis and others who voted against Greece’s latest bailout package will not be allowed to run for parliament under the Syriza banner in the upcoming snap election. For his part, Varoufakis said he would stand
by Sarkis Zeronian28 Aug 2015, 7:32 AM PST0

Greece’s president formally gave the conservative opposition a chance on Friday to form a new government after leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned, but the country appears almost certain to be heading to an election next month. Tsipras quit on
by Reuters21 Aug 2015, 1:19 AM PST0

In a televised address to his people, he said he had a moral duty to resign, because he was elected (just over half a year ago!) as a staunch opponent of the austerity measures he now believes it necessary to impose, in order to keep Greece in the Euro and secure its future.
by John Hayward20 Aug 2015, 4:22 PM PST0

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of the socialist Syriza party will reportedly step down and call for snap elections on September 20, rocking his already crisis-riddled nation with fresh wave of political turmoil. A formal announcement of his resignation is expected Thursday afternoon, along with a televised address to the Greek people.
by John Hayward20 Aug 2015, 9:11 AM PST0

One of the terms of Greece’s bailout deal involves selling off government monopolies and privatizing their operations.
by John Hayward19 Aug 2015, 9:04 PM PST0

As Greeks prepare for the beginning of the school year in September, there are serious concerns among Ministry of Education officials that as many as 27,000 teacher and university professor positions will remain unfilled. Officials are scrambling to recruit substitute teachers with fewer certifications to fill classrooms.
by Frances Martel12 Aug 2015, 7:09 AM PST0

The radical leftist party Podemos (“We Can”) that took Spain by storm last year is suffering major poll losses leading into Spain’s parliamentary elections in November, a new government poll shows, as Spanish observers grow wary of socialism following the decline of the Greek economy.
by Frances Martel6 Aug 2015, 9:07 AM PST0

No scene of political turmoil is complete until somebody gets investigated by prosecutors. Such is the fate of former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who has become a darling of the anti-austerity, hardcore left ever since he departed his office on the eve of the 11th-hour bailout deal.
by John Hayward30 Jul 2015, 7:58 PM PST0

On Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras floated the idea of calling for early elections in Greece to “bolster a parliamentary majority that has been strained by bailout reforms demanded by creditors,” as Reuters put it. Such is the chaos of end-state socialism in Greece that Tsipras really needs his own party to lose in those early elections. The Syriza party is coming unglued over the austerity components of Greece’s latest bailout package.
by John Hayward30 Jul 2015, 4:35 PM PST0

ATHENS, July 26 – Some members of Greece’s leftist government wanted to raid central bank reserves and hack taxpayer accounts to prepare a return to the drachma, according to reports on Sunday that highlighted the chaos in the ruling Syriza party.
by Reuters26 Jul 2015, 11:50 AM PST0

Contents: Burundi’s president Nkurunziza continues to provoke Hutu-Tutsi tensions; Greece’s Tsipras lashes out at his own party as new vote approaches; Where will Greece’s 86 billion euro bailout come from?
by John J. Xenakis22 Jul 2015, 4:00 AM PST0

There was speculation Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund’s disapproval of the European Union bailout package for Greece would stiffen resistance in the Greek Parliament against it, but in the end, they voted in agreement with what Reuters describes as “sweeping austerity measures demanded by lenders to open talks on a new multibillion-euro bailout package to keep Greece in the euro.”
by John Hayward16 Jul 2015, 11:54 AM PST0

Contents: Greece approves harsh reforms as IMF throws Europe under the bus; Japan’s Shinzo Abe pushes ‘collective defense’ bill for vote; Mexico’s first ‘historic’ attempt to re-privatize oil industry flops
by John J. Xenakis16 Jul 2015, 4:00 AM PST0

Following a referendum in which the Greek people largely rejected a debt deal with the EU and IMF requiring further austerity measures, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been cornered into selling the Greek Parliament an agreement even stricter than the one the referendum rejected. In doing so, he faces the herculean challenge of proving his new demand is not a complete about-face for him or his leftist party.
by Frances Martel15 Jul 2015, 8:32 AM PST0

Stocks rallied on Monday amid news that the Greek financial crisis was under control, and a bailout deal had been agreed upon, but that might have been a hasty celebration.
by John Hayward13 Jul 2015, 9:20 PM PST0

The seemingly final deadline for serious Greek proposals in the debt showdown was Friday morning, and some paperwork was indeed delivered on schedule, inducing some optimism that a Greek exit from the Euro would be averted. Depending on who you ask, the deal is either a stunning triumph or disastrous capitulation for either Greece or its creditors.
by John Hayward10 Jul 2015, 6:51 PM PST0