Greece’s president met little enthusiasm from political leaders summoned to a final round of talks yesterday to avert a new election, reinforcing fears the country was firmly on the path to bankruptcy and an exit from the eurozone.
Greece’s political landscape has been in disarray since an inconclusive election on May 6 left parliament divided between supporters and opponents of a 130 billion euro (US$168.3 billion) EU-IMF bailout, with neither side able to form a government.
After Sunday’s effort at cajoling party leaders into a coalition proved fruitless, Greek President Karolos Papoulias summoned four party leaders for a fresh round of talks yesterday evening.
However, the talks appeared doomed long before they began, as the young leader of the radical leftist SYRIZA party said he would not attend and another leftist leader refused to take part in any coalition unless SYRIZA was on board. Papoulias must call a new election if he fails to engineer a compromise.
With Greece set to run out of money as early as next month and no government in place to negotiate the next aid tranche, investors have begun betting that a long-speculated Greek default and eurozone exit will happen sooner rather than later.
The prospect of national bankruptcy and a return to the drachma appeared to be slowly sinking in among Greeks, who must now choose between the pain of spending cuts demanded in return for aid and an even more painful existence outside the euro.
“We have to stay in the euro. I’ve lived the poverty of the drachma and don’t want to go back. Never. God help us,” said Maria Kampitsi, a 70-year-old pensioner, who had to shut down her pharmacy two years ago because of the crisis. “They must cooperate or we’ll be destroyed, it will be chaos. For once, they must care about us and not their chair.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source