Is Greece out of the woods?
The Briefing Room
BBC
4.8 • 731 Ratings
🗓️ 23 August 2018
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Greece exited its bailout programme last week. It's the culmination of nine years of reliance on huge loans from international finance bodies and stringent budget cuts. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, heralded it as a day of liberation.
In the course of the country's economic crisis, youth unemployment rose to nearly 50 per cent and 40 per cent of the working age population was left at risk of poverty. Pensions were frozen and public sector salaries slashed.
David Aaronovitch speaks to guests about what successive governments have had to do to turn things round and what impact years of austerity have had on the day-to-day life of the Greek people. And although the economic indicators have improved somewhat, how confident can the Greek government be in its future and in its ability to stimulate longer term growth?
CONTRIBUTORS
Michele Kambas, Athens bureau chief at Thomson Reuters
Roman Gerodimos, founder of the Greek Politics Specialist Group
Chloe Hadjimatheou, BBC journalist
Professor Kevin Featherstone, Director of the Hellenic Observatory at the London School of Economics
Producer: Tim Mansel.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the briefing room with me, David Oronovich. The idea is that you and I get briefed together on the important questions of the day by people who know what they're talking about. |
| 0:10.9 | And if this works for you or even if it doesn't, please let us know what you think by writing a review or rating us on iTunes or your podcast provider. |
| 0:19.6 | There's been much rejoicing in Greece this week after |
| 0:22.5 | nine years of reliance on huge bailouts from international finance bodies, the country is free |
| 0:28.1 | once more to raise money on international markets. A day of liberation, said the Prime Minister. |
| 0:34.2 | In the briefing room this week, we're asking though if Greece really is out of the woods |
| 0:38.9 | and if you enjoy this podcast you might enjoy other editions of the briefing room there are |
| 0:43.5 | plenty of you to listen to in our archive last week for instance we made a piece about |
| 0:47.8 | Greece's old rival Turkey Greece Greece 2012. |
| 1:00.0 | Market turmoil as the crisis in Greece deepens, fears grow over the future of the Eurozone. |
| 1:07.0 | That was then, this is now. |
| 1:10.0 | Today a new day has dawned for our country, a historic day. |
| 1:17.7 | On Odysseus' home isle of Ithaca, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Cepras |
| 1:22.0 | announced that his country's ship had finally come home. |
| 1:26.0 | The mnemonia of litotitatis, dishefeces... |
| 1:29.1 | The bailouts of austerity, recession and |
| 1:31.8 | social desertification are finally over. |
| 1:35.0 | Our country regains the right to shape |
| 1:37.1 | its own future and fortunes |
| 1:39.0 | like any normal European country |
| 1:41.3 | without external duress, |
| 1:43.7 | blackmail or sacrifices by the people. |
... |
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