Thousands protest in Kosovo, demand Serb minister be fired

January 24, 2015

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Thousands of ethnic Albanians protested in Kosovo's capital Saturday against a minority Serb politician's denial of war crimes against them and demanded the government take over the management of the country's crucial mining complex.

Waving Albanian flags and banners, they called for the dismissal of the Serb Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic, whose comments minimizing Serbia's role in the 1998-99 Kosovo war especially angered the families of some 1,000 ethnic Albanians still missing.

Police estimated 12,000 protesters showed up. A handful threw rocks at the government building in Pristina, breaking several windows. Jablanovic is part of the governing coalition along with former Kosovo guerrillas who fought a separatist war against Serbia. Some 10,000 people died in the war when Serbian troops launched a brutal crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians. The violence was halted by NATO's 78-day bombing of Serbia, which forced Serb troops in 1999 to give up control of the overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian territory.

Saturday's protest follows a week of demonstrations throughout Kosovo organized by opposition parties. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia has never accepted its independence. Many ethnic Albanians fear Belgrade is gaining a foothold in Kosovo fifteen years after the end of the war.

The protests also followed a strike by over 400 miners at Kosovo's Trepca mining complex demanding the government takes over the administration to stop the mine from being liquidated. Protesters also want to keep Serbia from having a say about the mine's future. Trepca's riches are considered government property but the mine is administered by the Kosovo Property Agency, an independent body set up back when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia.

Italy prepares to elect new president

16 January 2015 Friday

Italy’s parliament will convene Jan. 29 to begin electing a new head of state to replace President Giorgio Napolitano. The clock is ticking for Premier Matteo Renzi to find a candidate who can help boost his own flagging political career.

Napolitano resigned Wednesday from the Quirinal Palace, officially because, with his 90th birthday approaching in June, he felt too old to continue, but unofficially, some commentators say, because of growing disgust at endless squabbling among Italian politicians.

Whatever the case, the resignation of the respected former communist plunged Italy into uncertainty.

There are no obvious front runners to replace him.

Italy tried first to find a successor for Napolitano in 2013 when he completed his first seven year term in office.

But Napolitano subsequently agreed to serve a partial second term as president when none of the candidates could obtain a majority. This time he has insisted he would not step into the breach again if there is another stalemate, posing a major test for 40-year-old Renzi.

Renzi has predicted a new head of state will be chosen before the start of February on a fourth ballot of the election involving more than 1,000 voters from the upper and lower houses of parliament and representatives nominated by regional governments.

In the first three votes, a super-majority of two thirds is needed to elect the new president, while a simple majority suffices after that.

“We'll reasonably have the name of the new president by the end of the month,” Renzi said Wednesday.

Renzi’s Democratic Party in theory has 445 votes.

But since the vote is secret as many as 140 dissident party members known as “snipers” may vote against Renzi’s preferred candidate, meaning he must reach a compromise on someone acceptable to conservative former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the center-right parties in the government coalition.

Pundits expect the next president could be a low profile figure from the Catholic center such as Sergio Mattarella, a former constitutional court judge, Anna Finocchiario, a Democratic Party senator, who would be first woman in the role, or Pierluigi Castagnetti, former head of the defunct Italian Popular Party close to the Vatican.

More high profile candidates mooted are former EU Commission president Romano Prodi, former prime minister Giuliano Amato and Roberto Pinotti, the current defense minister.

Stefano Folli, a respected commentator for la Repubblica newspaper, noted that many candidates being touted are lacklustre. “The names circulating at the moment are an indication that nobody has a clear idea who the next president could be.”

Also mentioned often are former mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni and Piero Fassino, the mayor of Turin.

Whoever wins must help Renzi get his package of political and electoral reforms through parliament now that his opinion poll ratings are flagging for the first time since he took office in February.

The initial popularity for Renzi's energetic style, developed as mayor of Florence, has waned as the Italian economic recession shows few signs of ending.

Until December, Renzi still won considerable approval at home for confidently vaunting Italy’s rotating six month presidency of the European Union, which ended Dec. 31, 2014.

Assessing the six months Italy was at the helm in Brussels, however, commentators conclude that all too little was achieved of any substance. Renzi worked hard to make himself seem a visionary European, for instance visiting Tirana and saying that Italy strongly backs letting Albania join the EU together with other Balkan countries.

In Ankara, Renzi’s rhetoric extended to reiterating Italy’s traditional support for Turkish membership of the European Union.

In both cases, such high-sounding pledges cost him and Brussels little. The European Commission has long since ruled out any new members joining the EU before 2020.

Against this background, the electors in coming days will be discussing the candidates for Italy’s 13th presidential race in a series of campaign dinners being held in politicians’ favorite restaurants around Rome.

The outcome of the contest will be a severe test of Renzi’s political caliber now that he can no longer rely on Napolitano, who during nine years in office, deftly guaranteed Italy’s stability during one of the most turbulent periods of the peninsula’s history.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153095/italy-prepares-to-elect-new-president.

Hungarian Foreign Minister to visit Turkey

22 January 2015 Thursday

Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto, will pay an official visit to Turkey on Jan. 25 and 26, according to a statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Turkey-Hungary bilateral relations and recent regional and international developments are to be discussed during Szijjarto's visit.

The two ministers will sign a cooperation agreement, the statement said.

Previously, Szijjarto expressed that Budapest will continue to be supportive of Turkey's integration with the European Union.

In his last visit to Ankara, Szijjarto told The Anadolu Agency "Turkey could give a new dynamism and new impetus for all of Europe."

Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987. Accession talks began in 2005.

However, negotiations hit a stalemate in 2007, due to issues pertaining to the island of Cyprus and the reluctance of German and French governments at the time.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153550/hungarian-foreign-minister-to-visit-turkey.

Amid pressure, bailout critic is new Greek finance minister

January 27, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's new left-wing prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, picked an outspoken bailout critic as his new finance minister Tuesday, signaling his resolve to take a tough line with eurozone lenders in an effort to write off a massive chunk of rescue debt.

Economist Yanis Varoufakis, 53 — who has described the bailout as "fiscal waterboarding" — took up the position amid a rating agency warning of a worsening financial situation that sent the country's stock market sharply lower.

The governing Syriza party on Tuesday announced a Cabinet that includes officials from its coalition ally, the anti-bailout and right-wing Independent Greeks. Moody's ratings agency described Syriza's election win Sunday as "credit negative," arguing it would prolong risks to financing, economic growth and bank liquidity. The agency said it expected the government's "policy uncertainty" to slash 2015 growth to 1 percent from the 2.9 percent predicted in the state budget.

The main stock index in Athens fell on the news, sliding 5.4 percent before recovering some losses to close down 3.7 percent amid losses across Europe. Tsipras won a landmark general election victory after campaigning on a pledge to renegotiate the bailout deal and seek forgiveness of more than half the debt — a message that resonated with voters who have suffered through harsh austerity measures that have included pension and salary cuts.

"We are determined to implement our program with courage and determination and not take one step back," said senior Syriza official Dimitris Stratoulis, who was appointed deputy minister for state welfare.

Theodoris Dritsas, incoming deputy minister for marine affairs, said the new government would halt plans to privatize more of the country's main port of Piraeus — despite official interest from six bidders for a two-thirds stake.

"Public ownership of the port will remain. The privatization ... stops here," Dritsas said. Despite Tsipras' choice of coalition partner, preferring an anti-bailout party with which he has major ideological differences over the centrist Potami, analyst Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank said pragmatism will probably prevail in Athens before Tsipras' government comes to a head-on collision with Greece's creditors.

"You cannot spend money you do not have, you cannot renege on your contract with your creditors and expect them to simultaneously grant you a big new loan, and you cannot boost growth by scaring businesses away and making your labor market more rigid," Schulz said in a note.

Schulz said the risk of Greece eventually having to leave the euro — turning itself into "a Venezuela without oil or an Argentina without the beef" — has increased from 30 to 35 percent. "This is not our main scenario," he said. "But it is a serious risk."

The new Cabinet was sworn in Tuesday. Tsipras chose economist and veteran left-wing politician Giannis Dragasakis as deputy prime minister and expanded powers for the ministries of development, environment, interior and public works — reducing the number of ministries from 19 to 11.

Panos Kammenos, the Independent Greeks leader, was named defense minister. Finance Minister Varoufakis has been a vocal critic of Greece's bailout agreements, arguing that repayment of the country's huge rescue package loans should be linked to growth, a policy change he argues would benefit eurozone lenders.

Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed.

Greece's first radical left prime minister sworn in

January 26, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Tieless and eschewing the traditional religious swearing-in ceremony, but with a surprise coalition deal in the bag and a sanguine international reception, radical left leader Alexis Tsipras took over Monday as austerity-wracked Greece's new prime minister.

Hours earlier, the 40-year-old's Syriza party trounced the outgoing, conservative government in Sunday's national elections, on a platform of easing social pain and securing massive debt forgiveness. Although Syriza fell tantalizingly short of a governing majority in the 300-seat parliament, Tsipras moved quickly Monday to secure the support of 13 lawmakers from the small, right-wing populist Independent Greeks party, raising his total to 162.

"We have the required majority," Tsipras told Greek President Karolos Papoulias, shortly before being sworn in as prime minister, the youngest Greece has seen in 150 years and the first incumbent to take a secular oath rather than the religious one customarily administered by a Greek Orthodox official.

Initial reactions from international markets and officials from Greece's bailout creditors were markedly unflustered. "We stand ready to continue supporting Greece, and look forward to discussions with the new government," International Monetary Fund director Christine Lagarde said.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutchman who chairs eurozone finance ministers' meetings, said that even though "there is very little support for debt write-offs," there is room to "come back to debt sustainability issues" in the future— if necessary.

His views were echoed by the prime minister of Finland, a country that has long been among the most unmovable on austerity issues. Alexander Stubb said that even if he opposes forgiving Greece's debts outright, he would be prepared to discuss extending loan repayments.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki congratulated Syriza and Tsipras, and said the U.S. looked forward to working with the new government on "domestic reforms and international efforts to foster Greece's economic recovery."

"There's no question, Greece has made significant progress on a very difficult economic adjustment and reform program," Psaki said. "There are indications that the economy is poised for renewed growth, but many challenges remain."

The alliance between Syriza and the Independent Greeks — two ideologically opposed parties who share only their opposition to the bailout — boosted stock markets across Europe that had fallen on news of the uncertain election results and fear of a second election. After a topsy-turvy session in Athens, stocks closed 3.2 percent down.

Syriza won 36.3 percent of the vote in Sunday's early general elections, 8.5 percentage points ahead of former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservatives. Nazi-rooted Golden Dawn, whose leadership is in prison awaiting trial for allegedly running a criminal organization, came third at 6.3 percent.

The Independent Greeks have pledged to support Syriza in Parliament with its 13 lawmakers, party leader Panos Kamenos said. Syriza officials said the Independent Greeks would take certain cabinet positions, although no details have been revealed so far.

Tsipras has promised to renegotiate Greece's massive bailout agreements, but insists he will not take any unilateral action against lenders from other eurozone countries and the IMF. Tsipras' choice to deal with the nationalist Independent Greeks — a party aligned in Europe with the UK Independence Party — rather than the centrist Potami caused concern that he could take a tough line in negotiations with rescue lenders.

Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis described the Independent Greeks as "far right and anti-European." Syriza's financial planning official, Giorgos Stathakis, confirmed Monday that the new government had no plans to meet with negotiators from the "troika" of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund and would instead seek talks directly with governments.

Greek voters swung to the once-marginal left-wing party after five years of punishing austerity measures demanded under 240 billion euro ($268 billions) bailout deals threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work and left nearly a third of the country without state health insurance.

Thousands of supporters turned out to watch Tsipras speak in central Athens after his opponents conceded. "The Greek people have written history," he said, to cheers. "Greece is leaving behind the destructive austerity, fear and authoritarianism, it is leaving behind five years of humiliation and pain."

Outside the party's campaign tent in central Athens, supporters hugged each other and danced in celebration. "It's like we've been born again and finally feel some hope," said Litsa Zarkada, a former government cleaning worker. "We were thrown into the street just before we could take our pension. We have been through so much."

The new government faces an immediate cash shortage, with a dwindling primary surplus, upcoming loan repayments, and limits on the money it can raise using treasury bill auctions. Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife Asset Management, said the government will be unable to afford to run its day-to-day operations and pay back debt that falls due in March in the absence of additional cash from international creditors.

"Syriza and its creditors are stuck in a Gordian Knot, and both sides will need to cave on something. Neither Greece nor its creditors want Greece to default or exit the eurozone, so a compromise will probably be found," Greene told the AP.

Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this story.

Tsipras moves to form anti-austerity Greek government after crushing victory

26 January 2015 Monday

Greek leftwing leader Alexis Tsipras will move on Monday to build a stable government that can take on international lenders and reverse years of painful austerity following a crushing election victory by his Syriza party.

Fresh from his defeat of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the 40-year-old Tsipras will meet the head of the small Independent Greeks party which, like Syriza, opposes Greece's bailout deal.

Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-seat parliament in Sunday's election, two short of an absolute majority, but the result marked a comprehensive rejection of the years of austerity demanded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in return for the 240 billion-euro bailout.

"Greece leaves behind catastrophic austerity, it leaves behind fear and authoritarianism, it leaves behind five years of humiliation and suffering," Tsipras told thousands of cheering supporters gathered in Athens on Sunday.

Syriza's campaign slogan "Hope is coming!" resonated with voters worn down by huge budget cuts and heavy tax rises during the years of crisis that have sent unemployment over 25 percent and pushed millions into poverty.

Tspiras aims to move swiftly to create the first euro zone government elected to undo the orthodox conservative polices of strict budgetary rigor that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has championed for the bloc's most troubled economies.

He expects to be sworn in as prime minister on Monday and have a government in place by Wednesday morning at the latest, according to a Syriza official.

For the first time in more than 40 years, neither the New Democracy party of Samaras nor the center-left PASOK, the two forces that had dominated Greek politics since the fall of a military junta in 1974, will be in power.

Tsipras is due to meet Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos at 10.30 a.m (0830 GMT) and also expects to talk to the heads of two other parties, the centrist To Potami and the communist KKE, a sign he may look for their support even if they do not join a formal coalition.

The Independent Greeks, a rightwing party with a hardline stance against illegal immigration, disagrees with Syriza on many social issues which could create tensions but it shares its opposition to the international bailout.

The 40-year-old Tsipras, who promises to keep Greece in the euro, has toned down his rhetoric and said he will negotiate an agreement with the "troika" of the EU, European Central Bank and IMF.

However, he has promised Greek voters to renegotiate the country's huge debts, causing consternation in Berlin which has insisted that Athens honor the terms of its 2010 bailout deal.

Together with last week's decision by the ECB to pump billions of euros into the euro zone's flagging economy despite objections from Germany, Syriza's victory marks a turning point in the long euro zone crisis.

But after the euphoria of election night, hailed by flag-waving crowds in Athens, Tsipras faces daunting challenges and can expect strong resistance to his demands from Germany in particular.

With Greece unable to tap the markets because of sky-high borrowing costs and facing about 10 billion euros of debt payments this summer, he will have to seek a deal to unlock more than 7 billion euros of outstanding aid by the time the bailout is due to expire on Feb. 28.

The euro hit an 11 year-low versus the dollar after initial results came out, as markets reacted to the prospect of a standoff within the EU, although many analysts believe a Syriza government can reach a settlement with its partners.

However, Syriza's victory will also encourage other anti-austerity forces in Europe and add impetus to calls for a change of course away from the focus on budget belt-tightening and structural reform favored by Berlin.

Those calls have come not just from anti-system movements such as Podemos in Spain but also from leaders such as French President Francois Hollande, who congratulated Tsipras on his win, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153791/tsipras-moves-to-form-anti-austerity-greek-government-after-crushing-victory.

Greece's Syriza seeks coalition partners after poll win

January 26, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's left-wing Syriza party prepared to launch coalition talks Monday, hours after a landmark general election victory fought on a pledge to rewrite the country's massive bailout deal with the eurozone.

Alexis Tsipras' party just missed a majority in parliament after defeating Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative coalition by a wider margin than expected. With 99.8 percent of the vote counted, Syriza had 149 seats in the 300-member parliament with 36.3 percent of the vote. The conservatives were on 27.8 percent, and the extreme right Golden Dawn party in third place with 6.28 percent.

Tsipras is to meet the leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks party, an anti-bailout ally, on Monday morning, with the party already expressing willingness to join a coalition. "I believe that by the end of the day, Mr. Tsipras will be in a position to form a government," senior Syriza official Dimitris Stratoulis told private Mega television.

Tsipras' choice to start power-sharing negotiations with Independent Greeks rather than the centrist Potami caused concern that he could take a tough line in negotiations with rescue lenders. Syriza's financial planning official, Giorgos Stathakis, confirmed Monday that the new government had no plans to meet with negotiators from the "troika" of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund and would instead seek talks directly with governments.

Stocks on Japan's Nikkei index were down 0.25 percent on eurozone concerns. Greek voters swung to the once-marginal left-wing party after five years of punishing austerity measures demanded under 240 billion euro ($268 billions) bailout deals threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work and left nearly a third of the country without state health insurance.

Thousands of supporters turned out to watch the 40-year-old Tsipras speak in central Athens after his opponents conceded. "The Greek people have written history," he said, to cheers. "Greece is leaving behind catastrophic austerity, fear and autocratic government."

Outside the party's campaign tent in central Athens, supporters hugged each other and danced in celebration. "It's like we've been born again and finally feel some hope," said Litsa Zarkada, a fired government cleaning worker. "We were thrown into the street just before we could take our pension. We have been through so much.

The new government faces an immediate cash shortage, with a dwindling primary surplus, upcoming loan repayments, and limits on the money it can raise using treasury bill auctions. Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife Asset Management, said the government will be unable to afford to run its day-to-day operations and pay back debt that falls due in March in the absence of additional cash from international creditors.

"Syriza and its creditors are stuck in a Gordian Knot, and both sides will need to cave on something. Neither Greece nor its creditors want Greece to default or exit the eurozone, so a compromise will probably be found," Greene told the AP.

"If Syriza forms a coalition with the Independent Greeks, that suggests the new government will engage in dangerous brinkmanship with Greece's creditors as it tries to negotiate funding to stave off utter bankruptcy over the next few months."