Davon hätte niemand etwas gehabt, außer diejenigen, die die Griechen mal richtig bluten sehen wollen und dafür auch eigene Verluste in Kauf genommen hätten.

Dass Radikalismus Griechenland jetzt noch hilft, wage ich zu bezweifeln.

Sie hätten also genau auf den Kurs einschwenken sollen, mit dem die Altparteien seit drei Jahren erfolglos sind?

Was eine Hinterbänklerin einer Partei, die bis vor kurzem noch bei 4 % herumkrebste, bei einem solchen Gespräch verzapft ist ebenso unerheblich wie der Unsinn, der im SYRIZA-Programm steht.

Viel wichtiger ist, daß Tsipras auf den Rat verschiedener Ökonomen hätte zurückgreifen können, die mit den korrupten Altparteien nichts zu schaffen haben wollen.

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Should we be afraid of Syriza’s ‘ultra-leftism’? My answer is a resounding No. I recommend that (even those who have Greek amongst their languages) you do not read their manifesto. It is not worth the paper it is written on. While replete with good intentions, it is hort on detail, full of promises that cannot, and will not be fulfilled (the greatest one is that austerity will be cancelled), a hotchpotch of policies that are neither here nor there. Just ignore it. Syriza is a party that had to progress, within weeks, from a fringe political agglomeration struggling to get into Parliament (at around the 4% mark) to a major party that may have to form government in a few short weeks. It is, in important ways, a ‘work in progress’; and so is its unappetising Manifesto. No, the reason it is safe to take a gamble on Syriza is threefold:

First, because it is probably the only party that ‘gets it’; that understands (a) that Greece must stay in the Eurozone (despite the latter’s obvious failures), and (b) that the Eurozone will not survive unless someone forces Europe to put an immediate halt on this “march off the cliff of competitive austerity�.

Secondly, because the small team of political economists that will negotiate on Syriza’s behalf are good. moderate people with a decent grasp of the grim reality that Greece and the Eurozone are facing (and, no, I am not part of that team – but I know the ones I am referring to).

Thirdly, because, in any case, a vote for Syriza is not going to establish a purely Syriza government. No party, including Syriza, will be in a position to form a government outright. So, the question is whether Europe is better off with a government in Athens which includes Syriza as a pivot or one which is supported by discredited pro-bailout parties, with Syriza leading from the opposition benches. I have no doubt whatsoever that Europe’s interests are best served by the first option.

Daß die Griechen schon jetzt "richtig bluten", scheint BAcko nicht bewußt zu sein

A mother and son have jumped to their death from the roof of a five-floor building in an apparent suicide.

Witnesses say the two leapt while holding hands, a little after 8am in the small neighbourhood of Vathi square in Metaxourgeio, in central Athens. The mother was 90 years old and her son, musician Antonis Perris, was 60 years old.

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The son recently wrote a blog post describing his current situation:

"I have been taking care of my 90 year old mother for 20 years now … Three or four years ago she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and recently she has been subject to schizophrenic fits and other health problems. Nursing homes don’t accept patients who are such a burden. The problem is that I was not prepared … when the economic crisis hit."