The IMF Leaks Greece
Esther Bubley Soldiers with their girls at the Indianapolis bus station1943
On Saturday, Paul Mason at Channel 4 in Britain posted an IMF document(s) that
according to him says, among other things, that the IMF expects a June 5
Grexit – in one form or another – if there is no agreement before that
date between Athens and its creditors, ‘the institutions’ (of which the
IMF itself is one).
The
leaking is simply what it is as long as we don’t know the how and why.
But the question will remain why somebody takes the risk to leak
something only a small and select group of people are privy to. Is it
leaked because it’s politically important, does Paul Mason pay a lot of
money for leaks? Or is it perhaps an intentional leak, in this case
ordered by IMF higher-ups? And if so, for what reason? A veiled threat?
Fact
is that when you look through the documents Mason published, you notice
that he adds his own interpretation to them. Mason, to whom documents
seem to be leaked on a regular basis – he wrote about 2 more leaked documents 3 months ago – for instance suggests quite strongly in his write up at Channel 4 that June 5th is the date for a possible default.
However, the documents don’t mention that date. They only talk about June, not June 5. Mason writes about IMF ‘staff’: “They point to the €1.5 billion due to the IMF in June as the first vulnerable payment.”
The €1.5 billion is not one payment, though. The first June payment, at least according to a Bloomberg overview ,
which is indeed scheduled for June 5, is ‘only’ €310 million. There are
then subsequent payments to the IMF scheduled on June 12 (€348
million), June 16 (€581 million), and June 19 (another €348 million).
These are rough numbers, there are slightly different ones doing the
rounds; still, they’ll do.
But
June 5 is by no means carved in stone as a default date (€310 million
might be feasible for Athens), though Mason does make it seem like that.
Every single day counts now in the negotiations. And a €310 million
payment on June 5 would buy Greece at least another week. Which may
prove crucial. For both sides of the negotiating table. Greece might
even miss one or two payments; the consequences of such a move would be
mainly a political decision, meaning there’s some room to move.
We
noticed, by the way, another example of ‘Masonic’ interpretation in the
video that accompanies the article. In it, Mason claims (at about 1:10)
that “..the writer of this document thinks Greek pensions are too generous even now.” While
it’s possible that he talked to the writer, or received additional
information that he doesn’t mention, fact is that the document doesn’t
corroborate his statement in the video. There’s no mention of this
claim. Maybe it’s Paul Mason’s own opinion?! Take a listen:
Yanis
Varoufakis has already made clear what Syriza thinks should be done
with the debt it owes to Europe: it should be swapped for paper with a
repayment schedule that stretches way into the future. Looking at
(re)payment schedules, it becomes clear this is not just a hollow idea.
If Europe would allow for such a swap, Greece’s debt picture would
change radically overnight. It would take away a large part of the
burden this year:
The
‘big kahuna’ issue for Syriza has been, ever since it won the elections
in late January, that its voters want something seemingly impossible:
an end to austerity combined with continued membership of the eurozone.
‘The institutions’ won’t let Greece have both. Which has a lot to do
with the fact that polls show continued support for euro membership in
Greece; it’s one big hammer that Tsipras can be banged over the head
with, day after day.
‘The
institutions’, and indeed the international media, expect Greece to
cave in to their demands for more austerity at the ‘final moment’,
because the alternative would not only be horrific – at least presumably
-, it would go against the wishes of the Greek people. What not a lot
of people seem to understand is that Syriza can’t give in, because it
would mean the end of Syriza.
However,
if the institutions force a Greece default, that would bring a
potential disintegration of the eurozone much closer than it is today.
And whoever says they’re confident it can be contained are delusional
liars. The risks for all three, EC, ECB and IMF, would far outstrip the
few billion euros on which they may receive repayment a few years later.
And they should not want these risks. Not if they have functioning
neurons left.
But
the biggest threat to the negotiations may not come from the
institutions after all. It may well come from inside Syriza. As the
Greek Analyst site reported this morning:
Prominent members of the Central Committee and the Political Secretariat of Syriza are preparing an event for tomorrow, Tuesday May 19. Quoting from the event description, as well as the title of the invitation-pamphlet, the message of the event seems quite clear: “the only way out [of the impasse] is the choice of rupture with the lenders.” :The Moment of Truth For Syriza: “Rupture now with the lenders.”The moment of truth has arrived. The lenders are pressuring the government to sign a Memorandum agreement of neoliberal strategy (privatizations, demolition of the insurance-pension system and of the labour rights, ENFIA, VAT tax, etc.)It turns out that the agreement of the 20th of February facilitated, objectively, this attack and “creative ambiguity” favored the powerful. The assumption that a radical program of anti-austerity can be build with the tolerance of the neoliberal steering wheels of the Eurozone proved wrong. Now, we are moving to the critical hour of decisions for the government, the party of SYRIZA, and the social majority.We need to choose between the signing of the looming austerity agreement and the rupture with the lenders. SYRIZA cannot be turned into a party of austerity; neither can the government implement the Memorandum. This is the reason why, both domestically and abroad, proposals for the internal “cleansing” of SYRIZA and governmental solutions for “national unity” are put on the table.For all those reasons, the only way out is the choice of rupture with the lenders. With a suspension of repayments [of the debt], measures that restrict the “freedom” of capital flight, governmental control over the banks, taxation of capital and of the rich for the financing of pro-people measures, support of this policy with any and all possible means, and with the possible break from the EMU.For all of the above, we invite you to discuss in the open event of Rproject on Tuesday 19/5 in 7:00pm at ESIEA. Today, the future of workers, unemployed, pensioners, young people is judged. And at the same time, the future of the Radical Left in Greece, but also internationally.
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