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Live Video Webcast From The Bundestag
As various German party heads and other flacks complete their prepared remarks over the second Greek bailout, we get closer to the actual bailout vote. Unlike on previous occasions, the atmosphere toward Greece this time around is far more hostile. Granted, a down vote will likely have the same impact on markets as Congress voting down the first TARP so is highly unlikely, but for those eager for political drama this is your webcast.
Full webcast after the jump.
More on the blow by blow can be found here.
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Bend over German Citizen, NO LUBE FOR YOU!!!
In Mudwrestling, I do think Kuenast would strangle hold Merkel in a few minutes.
Meine deutsche ist nicht so gut. Haben sie eine Englishe linken?
Can you translate the part that says "Success"
bedankt
Watch it live? ... I'd rather stick needles into my eyeballs and listen to Cher on a continuous loop ...
Do you BELIEVE in bailout after bailout?
... I was thinking more along the lines of 'Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves', but alas, I date myself ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAAIZYY01FI
Am not watching this, the bailout will work...
The world is watching, Herr Kraut, so make it good...
Mmmm, Ich liebe Deutsche. =)
The sharks are voting to chum the waters.
Blah blah blah blah blah.
Where's the beef?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0
Ok, but I do like that Merkle is there. Obama would never hang around while Congress debated.
the prez is not part of Congress and elected separately from it, while the Bundeskanzler is the expression of the will of the Bundestag - the executor of it (sounds poetic, doesn't it)
they just need to vote (with a simple majority) a new Kanzler and she has to sit in the back benches
There seems to be no serious opposition to Greek Bailout 2.0 here except by a very small number of weaker politicians. Lots of idealistic talk of "solidarity"... Some meaningless hedging on "transparency" and "reform". Read: Germans still love the banks. This bailout will go through without problem to the happiness of "Goldman am Mittelmeer."
German taxpayers you have work a lot longer and harder to support the rest of the PIIGS. Once Greece gets forgiveness and free money they all want it. Raise the German retirement to 80 so the PIIGS can retire at 60.
C'mon Germany, you can do better:
German retirement: 100 years old (you guys are fit enough, keep on eating Bio and yoghurt)
PIIG retirement: 45 (too much sun and espresso)
German tax rate: raise it to 80%
PIIG tax rate: lower it to 5%
German VAT: 40% (why not? just double it)
PIIG VAT: let's eliminate it, it is a drag on growth
Also, Germany should require by law that only ESFS bonds should fund all German pensions from now on.
Will Gysi be there and speaking? If not, then its not even worth watching (not that he'd propose efficient solutions, but he at least would honestly address the state of things, and mop the floor with all those whores rethorically (he's done it before already))
Oh, nevermind... just did read that he did speak already, and once again provoked outrage :)
Is Gysi like Nigel Farage?? Telling the truth to the German redcoats?
LOL - yes, Gregor is the German Nigel - LOL LOL LOL
Well why doesn't he form a coalition of anti-bailouts and anti-EU and kick Merkel out? Or is he alone in the wilderness like Farage and Paul?
gysi is your hard-leftwing variant of those folks. I.e., he in equally harsh manner points out the same mistakes and idiocy as them.
As long as you only hear him pointing out flawed policies and corrupt behaviour, you will at first think that he reads ZH or something.... until he hints at his prefered solution, which are pro-state and anti-private - especially anti-private financials.
Or in short: completely opposite corner, ideologically.... yet equally pissed off with crony capitalism and bailout orgies.
As for "forming an anti-bailout coalition".... there is no significant party in germany, except of his party, that opposes the bailouts.
Well that sucks.
If you're capable of understanding a little bit german, here's a good impression of him (recorded shortly before the 2nd bailout, which in turn was before LTRO 1).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjVlD0LEkTk
Will provide a summarized bulletpoint translation in 20-30 mins.
- opens the speech, with pointing out that merkel, after an european meeting today, provided zero information to the parliament, and calls it a "secret meeting" with decisions behind closed doors.
- then goes on to say, that all measures towards greece so far have failed, and remarks that "they told them so from the beginning on"... and that they are now copypasting the same methods for other PIIGS nations.
- then goes on to mention another "closed doors" meeting between european finance ministers, a few days ago, with again no information towards the parliament
- reflects that the other parties said, that the right way to approach greece, was to enforce strict and harsh penalities... and this would then solve the crisis... when actually, the crisis only escalated further.
- next up addresses the population, and again demands it gets informed, about what actually is going on. Asks, if nations like greece and portugal are in a crisis, because the people are lazy and greedy (in a sideremark implies that other parties are spreading racism)... or if there are actually entirely different causes for the crisis?
- Then goes on to explain in layman speek, how nations borrow money from private banks, and pay interest. Mentions how banks especially like to lend to govs, because the gov is such a "safe" bet. Then goes on to mention how problematic nations borrow ever more, with ever higher total interest payments, while banks because of the increased risk demand ever higher rates, until the nations become insolvent.
- Then asks, what one could do about it? Says that for example there would be one thing: "fair" taxes (his definition of fair, may vary from yours). Then ridicules that no other party and nation ever proposes this... only entitlements and benefits shall be cut, while upperclass taxes get reduced or outrightly abolished... thus making those social programmes unaffordable, so that either austerity follows, or one needs to borrow even more... or more typically, both. (see, i said that he's hard-leftwing)
- Then goes on to explain that austerity doesn't just reduce spending, but also reduce tax-income and purchasing power. (Yeah, ZHers will scream bloody murder now, hehe. My opinion: Social services are *compensation"... they compensate economic defects. That neither makes them a "solution", nor does blind axing of them provide a solution on it's own.)
- next up mentions ratings agencies saying, that those nations are crap, which however in turn raises rates so high, that insolvency becomes guaranteed.
- then goes back to the banking topic. Explains that the lenders of all that money, are among other things german banks, and that it is those german banks with whom the current gov is concerned, instead of some hypocritical false "altruism".
- jokes about how a nation can go bancrupt anyways...
- and then meintions the tabu word - default
- a member of another party immediatelly launches a rethoric attack, by attacking gysi's party origins.
- gysi instead of going into the defense, goes into the offense, by joking "yeah, but you know, our (east-germany)'s plan was, to make west germany insolvent.... and afterall, this was halfway successful." (a hint at the reunification costs)
- then goes right back to mentioning, that default of course would be a possibility, but that this of course would have the downside, that one wouldn't get a single dime in the future from the banks, and of course it would severally hurt those big german banks.
- next up: rapid fire stats about what german banks have lended to greece. (billions, billions, billions, billions)
- proposes COMPLETE (instead of just partial) nationalization of the affected german banks instead of bailing them out.
- another member of another party immediatelly launches an attack
- gysi mentions that those neocons could privatize them again, after their house is in order, but that not doing it at all, would be completely wrong.... then mentions deutsche bank (actually, he has mentioned them a dozen time by now - he really hates them :) as an example, where the gov partially nationalized it's bad assets with 10 billion taxpayer money, so DB could then make giant profits again and pay giant bonusses to bankers... while the state is still sitting on the crap.
- reaction from other parties: ridicule.
- gysi: "Yes, i know you reject this, but the IMF has just released a report, that after the big financial crisis, the megabanks became even more powerful"
- next up in detail outlines the planned austerity plans, which alltogether sound like a firesale.
- consequences according to him: 1. Innocent pay for the crisis. 2. Social injustice. 3. An economic vicious cycle downwards.... and this vicious cycle "you" now also want to apply to portugal.
- Rapid fire stats again: Bailout A, bailout B, bailout C.... billions, billions, billions.
- Then mentions that portugal is neither ireland nor greece, but that in portugal the population itself is outright broke.
- His scapegoat: The deregulated private finacial market.
- Then transitions to little known plans for austerity measures against portugal (incl. 25% VAT).... which again sounds like a firesale..
- a member of another party immediatelly interrupts, and claims that he has no knowledge of such a thing at all.
- Gysi ridicules him, and rethorically implies that said other politician is a hypocrite and liar, but explicitely phrases it so, as if he is "only" completely clueless and incompetent.
- then almost starts screaming about the entire idiocy of that "vicious circle" and that the applied policies are outrightly PUSHING the PIIGS into maximum debt.
- next up: another taboo topic.... the import/export shism in the EMU, and germany's role in it.... goes on to detail how germany is now a global record exporter, close to china, while 60% of those exports going to EMU nations.
- another party politician again interrupts.... what he says is nonunderstandable, but from gysi's reaction, he went for the usual "germany has it sooo good, because of all its exports"
- Gysi then in an overly-friendly way informs them, that this nationwide surplus, is the deficit of the pigs. And that this biased orientation is at the root of the structucal problem.... starts to hint at how germany managed wagedumping... but then gets interrupted that his time is up.
Just another "bought" vote: Greece, Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Finland, Greece, Germany. Why watch?
How dare these people talk German?
At least put english subtitles or something!
/sarc
Ich habe Durchfall, wo is die Toilette?
Hinter Bundestag Podest.
What's up with all these short-haired bulldog chicks in their legislature?
OMG, another one! What's that, 5 or 6 since I looked.?!
I consider this to be another one. I'm just watching to see how many more roll up to the podium...
Ooh, a hottie for a change, nicole gohlke.