Greece political crisis becoming a war of wills

Page last updated at 03:54 GMT, Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 08:54 EST

Los Angeles Times:

A pedestrian passes graffiti on a post office facade in Athens' Syntagma Square.

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As Greece lurches along without a government, its deepening political crisis is fast turning into a war of wills in which Europe's economy potentially hangs in the balance.

On one side are the Greek politicians who accuse other Europeans of trying to "terrorize" their country into accepting more draconian austerity cuts and who warn that if Greece gets kicked out of the euro, "Europe will be doomed."

On the other are officials in Brussels, Berlin and other capitals, who say that expelling Greece from the Eurozone would be regrettable but "can be managed" if Athens reneges on the tough terms to which it has agreed in exchange for two international bailouts.

Only one of the antagonists can be right. The outcome of the high-stakes staring contest could determine whether Greece becomes the first European nation to default in decades and possibly pulls neighboring countries down with it, in a cascade whose waves would crash through the global economy.

Which side will prevail, nobody can predict. Even London's famous bookies have stopped taking bets on whether Greece will remain a member of the Eurozone, the club of 17 nations that use the euro. But as Athens hurtles toward another possible election next month to try to break the impasse created by this month's inconclusive vote, neither side is showing any sign of backing down.

Read the whole story: Los Angeles Times