Greeks Rail Against "Crude" German Editorial; Merkel Ally Tells Greece "Vote right or Euro's Gone"; Initial Estimates 2:30 ET Sunday

In the past week, as I expected, the ECB, Troika, German officials and others have all warned Greeks to not vote for Alexis Tsipras and his radical-left party Syriza. Will those tactics backfire?

I suggest they already have. The pertinent question is whether they have backfired enough to matter.

Please consider Greeks rail against 'crude' German editorial.

Greek parties reacted with outrage on Friday after the German edition of the Financial Times made a front-page call on Greeks to vote for the New Democracy conservatives in the upcoming election.

"Dear Greeks, create clear political conditions. Vote courageously for reforms instead of angrily against the necessary, painful structural changes," read the Financial Times Deutschland's editorial, published in Greek and German.

"Your country will only be able to keep the euro with parties that accept the conditions of the international creditors," the daily said, adding: "Resist the demagoguery of Alexis Tsipras and his (radical-left party) Syriza."

It endorsed the New Democracy party led by 61-year-old Antonis Samaras.

Syriza condemned the editorial as "a crude and unprecedented intervention, which offends national dignity and tries to undermine democracy."

The only thing left now is for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to "come and hand out ballots for the right," said top Syriza official Dimitris Papadimoulis.

Merkel ally tells Greece: Vote right or euro's gone

Also from The Local, please consider Merkel ally tells Greece: Vote right or euro's gone

A leading German right-wing politician warned Saturday that if the far left wins Greece's elections this weekend, the country's exit from the eurozone "will be only a matter of time."

"If the radical left carries on saying it wants the help of all the other countries in the eurozone but does not offer anything in return, then it will only be a matter of time before Greece exits" the eurozone, said Wolfgang Bosbach, chairman of the interior ministry committee in parliament and a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Even without Sunday's elections, Greece is not fit to be a member of the eurozone, the top Christian Democratic Union official said.

"The country's economy lacks dynamism, competitiveness and efficient governance. And billions more aid will not change that fundamentally," he said in excerpts from an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, to be published in full on Sunday.

Results 2:30 ET Sunday

Bloomberg reports Greek Vote Outcomes Range From Coalition to Euro Exit: Scenarios

Election and polls close at 7 p.m. Athens time (5 p.m. in London, 12 p.m. in New York). Exit polls will be published immediately, and initial estimates of the result will come in around 9:30 p.m. local time. 

Many expect there will be no workable coalition. I believe Syriza will be able to secure one if it wins, and I believe it will win. Should New Democracy win,  however, there is a good chance party leader Antonis Samaras will be forced to step aside as part of a coalition with Pasok.

There are really no good choices for Greece. However, a Syriza win has the huge advantage of getting what needs to be done (a Greek exit) much sooner, with at least some chance of recovering in a couple years as opposed to a decade from now.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List