Greek government-debt crisis

"We will witness the end of the crisis in June. We can do it. Everyone in Europe just needs to calm down", stated FinMin Yanis Varoufakis to Italian journalists shortly before his meeting with Finance Minister of Italy Pier Carlo Padoan.

Was it a turn against all the election speeches, a turn towards realism, or a diplomatic tactic in order to convince European partners of the need to lessen Greek debt?

Greece's new Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, a left-wing academic economist, is on a tour around Europe in an attempt to rescue support for the new debt renegotiation measures proposed by SYRIZA.

The visits come as a surprise, since the Greek Finance Minister announced on Friday that he was not willing to talk over the debt situation with the Troika of international creditors.

By Ingrid Melander & Yann Le Guernigou

France's finance minister warned Athens against any attempt to play Paris off against Berlin over Greece's debt crisis, saying a Franco-German agreement was key to striking a deal that would help Greeks and ensure they met their commitments.

In an article titled "Who's Unreasonable Now?" Paul Krugman, one of the world's best known and most acclaimed economists, comments on the recent political developments in Greece and the Greek government's decision to put an end to the "debt haircut" chorus.

Right-wing anti-austerity Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader Panos Kammenos told private ANT1 television that he does not agree with the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government's stand on giving second generation immigrants citizenship. "We are, as Independent Greeks, a parliamentary group of 13 deputies and vote according to the principles by which we were voted in Parliament.

Greece's radical new leaders hope to win Rome's support at talks on Feb. 3 in their bid to renegotiate a massive 240-billion-euro ($270 billion) bailout following encouraging remarks from Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who said Europe must abandon austerity.
 

Greece's new leaders on Feb. 2 embarked on a diplomatic campaign to win backing for a renegotiation of a 240 billion euro ($270 billion) bailout, winning support from US President Barack Obama but a stark warning from Britain.
      

Strangely enough for many observers, the leftist SYRIZA party and its leader, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, did not stop surprising its European partners after ascending to power in Greece. But how should this rhetoric be interpreted?

The European Union could help Greece crack down on tax evaders by freezing the assets of rich Greek tax dodgers living in the 28-member bloc, Germany's economy minister told Bild daily on Tuesday.