French Presidential Election

[Martinus]

I also hope Aleister Crowley sues them from beyond the grave for the name use.

[Jaron]

These Greek neonazis seem like lovely people - for example many participated in volunteer units in the Balkan wars, including a number of war crimes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_(Greece)

I wonder why the Balkans/Greece are so fucked up.

My love, your link is broken. I'll make a new one for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_(Greece)

[Josquius]

hurray for France.
Greece- worrying.

[11B4V]

The name seems like it belongs in Oblivion.  Golden Dawn.......ASS MONKIES

[11B4V]

[Tamas]

Sooo, we will see an attempt to cover the EU structural problems in freshly printed euros, if this guy have his way. Or we just flat out collapse if the Germans deny him his make-believe money.

[Martinus]

Sooo, we will see an attempt to cover the EU structural problems in freshly printed euros, if this guy have his way. Or we just flat out collapse if the Germans deny him his make-believe money.

As a Hungarian, you really have no moral authority to criticise the leaders elected by succesful countries. You are pretty much limited to shitting on Greece, sorry.

Btw, who did you vote for in the last Parliamentary elections in Hungary?

[Jaron]

Sooo, we will see an attempt to cover the EU structural problems in freshly printed euros, if this guy have his way. Or we just flat out collapse if the Germans deny him his make-believe money.

As a Hungarian, you really have no moral authority to criticise the leaders elected by succesful countries. You are pretty much limited to shitting on Greece, sorry.

Btw, who did you vote for in the last Parliamentary elections in Hungary?

[Tamas]

The Liberal Experiment may still fail in Poland 

And I of course voted on the Libertarian economist PM candidate. He got 1%

[CountDeMoney]

Those fears will be as unfounded as the ones people had about Mitterrand.

I actually liked Mitterrand, who was more of a team player than things let on;  it was Chirac I couldn't fucking tolerate.

Why would Hollande be like Chirac and not Mitterand then? Chirac was the same party as Sarkozy.

And Dubya was from the same party as his father and Ronald Reagan.  Your point?

[CountDeMoney]

Way to go, fellas!

Euro, stock markets fall after votes in France and Greece

LONDON — Investors nervous about the changing political winds in Europe drove down the euro and sent stock markets falling across the region on Monday while pushing up borrowing costs in a number of heavily indebted nations.

French voters on Sunday elected a Socialist, Francois Hollande, while the Greeks gave new strength to parties opposed to the terms of its international bailout. In both nations, voters in effect challenged a German-led plan to use painful waves of austerity and government cuts as a cure for Europe's debt crisis.

The reaction on Monday — negative, though mutedly so — underscored the tough road ahead for Europe. On one hand, a number of economists and politicians including Hollande have argued that a single-minded focus on cuts has done more harm than good, driving a number of the region's economies into recession and sending unemployment soaring. They argue that fiscal restraint should now be paired with new policies also aimed at fueling growth.

But investors leery of over-spending and over-borrowing in Europe will be watching the economies every step of the way. If they veer too far off the track of austerity and are seen to ring up fresh budget deficits, they could be quickly punished through a run on bonds or a dumping of bank stocks that could trigger a new phase in the crisis.

Monday's early sell-off did not reach those levels, but it offered a reminder of the stakes. The euro fell against the dollar, briefly touching a four-month low at $1.295. The stock market in Athens, where politicians were still scrambling to form a new government in the aftermath of fragmented elections, was falling by more than 7 percent early Monday. Key indexes on the stock markets in Paris and Frankfurt were also dropping by more than 1 percent.

Borrowing costs for France, Greece, Spain and Italy all edged higher early Monday.

Citibank economists Guillaume Menuet and Jurgen Michels warned in a note on Monday that the situation in Greece seemed particularly precarious and that Athens was in danger of being forced out of the euro currency union — an event that could touch off a new round of global market turmoil.

"The Greek parliamentary elections delivered a fragmented result that highlighted growing public opposition to austerity, foreshadowing significant challenges ahead at forging the political consensus necessary to keep the country in the euro," they said in a statement. "Even considering the push for a growth agenda among European leaders, including newly elected French President Francois Hollande, we see significant potential for a new Greek government to miss the next round of targets and a rising risk of a Greek exit from the euro within the next 12 to 18 months."

[Richard Hakluyt]

Greece is fucked economically no matter what they do. IMO they need to do whatever they can to avoid a meltdown of civil authority.

[Tamas]

I have been tellin you folks: we are re-living the 30s.

[Caliga]

*sigh* I keep telling you people: Monastir Gap.  Panzer divisions.  When will you listen?

[Sheilbh]

Greece is the real worry.  I think everyone expected an Hollande victory so that's been priced in.  The drubbing the pro-bailout parties got in Greece was far more severe than anyone expected.

The pro-bailout parties are, by my count 3 MPs short of a majority.  Samaras gets first shot at forming a coalition which will presumably include PASOK, but apparently neither SYRIZA, the Democratic Left or the Independent Greeks will join it - and obviously the Communists and neo-Nazis won't.

I think the Democratic Left are calling for a popular front government of them, SYRIZA, PASOK and the Commies which would have a majority of 2.  But the Commies refuse to cooperate with anyone and PASOK are the party of the bailout so it's tough to see them forming a government with the left.

Greece is fucked economically no matter what they do. IMO they need to do whatever they can to avoid a meltdown of civil authority.

Yeah.  As it is I think they have to leave