Greek lawmakers geared up for a crucial confidence vote in the beleaguered Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) government yesterday, as both main parties floated plans to approve a massive European bailout and call new elections.
The political drama has horrified the indebted country’s European partners and overshadowed the G20 summit in the French resort of Cannes. The threat of a Greek default or exit from the eurozone has spooked global markets and worsened a European debt crisis that has already forced massive bailout deals for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s governing party has a tenuous majority of two in the 300-seat assembly, but at least one PASOK lawmaker has threatened not to back him.
Faced with a revolt in his own party and heavy international pressure, Papandreou on Thursday abandoned plans for a referendum on Greece’s latest international bailout agreement. The referendum proposal sparked a global crisis, as investors feared that rejection of the hard-fought debt relief plan would force a disorderly Greek default.
The new debt deal would give Greece a 130 billion euro (US$179 billion) rescue package — on top of the 110 billion euros it was granted a year ago. It would also see banks forgive Athens 50 percent of the money it owes them, about 100 billion euros. The goal is to reduce Greece’s debts to the point where the country is able to handle its finances without constant bailouts.
If the deal stalls, Greece will not get the next 8 billion euro installment of its loans and will probably go bankrupt before the year is out.
Papandreou has given no indication he plans to resign shortly, but he said on Thursday night he was not “glued to his seat.”
However, both his PASOK party and the opposition conservatives are talking about elections — though they differ strongly on the timing.
Senior PASOK lawmaker Christos Protopappas said yesterday that if the government wins the late-night confidence vote, it could then launch talks with the opposition conservatives on forming a caretaker administration to lead the country through the next few crucial months, when Greece must approve the bailout and thrash out debt writeoff details with banks.
Protopappas said elections could then be held in February or March next year.
“We need three or four months ... to rationalize the situation, restore calm to the country, get rid of that [sic] 100 billion euros in debt and build international credibility,” Protopappas told state NET radio.
“Then we can get back at each others’ throats for a month for the elections — at that point everyone will be able to wait for us,” he added.
The conservatives don’t want to wait. An angry New Democracy Party leader Antonis Samaras said on Thursday that Papandreou has to go now and he demanded elections within the next six weeks if possible.
“Mr Papandreou pretends that he didn’t understand what I told him,” he said. “I called on him to resign.”
Protopappas argued that holding early elections now would drive Greece to bankruptcy.
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS