Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Hum de hum. An unnamed source says Greece is changing its tune about demanding a new deal to replace its existing rescue package:

Greece will seek an extension to its rescue deal from the rest of the eurozone Wednesday, an official with knowledge of the situation said….Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said he expects an agreement between Greece and the eurozone over an extension. “It is my considered opinion that there is going to be a text that everyone is going to be happy with,” Mr. Varoufakis said in a brief telephone interview, despite talks in recent days with his eurozone counterparts that he described as “boisterous.”

But there’s also this:

The comments came shortly after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave a defiant speech in Parliament in Athens, saying his government would move to immediately dismantle overhauls mandated by its bailout program….“We are not taking even one step back from our basic promises to the Greek people, not one step back from our pre-election promises,” Mr. Tsipras said.

So it’s more good-cop-bad-cop. But if this report is true, it looks like it’s Greece that’s blinking first. Why? Probably because—to Greece’s surprise—the Germans seem all too sincere about letting Greece default and exit the euro if they refuse to continue down the austerity path they’re currently on. If this is really the state of play, then Greece will get a few minor concessions that Tsipras can spin as a victory for domestic consumption, but not much more.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate