June 18, 2011

Battle lines drawn for a eurozone debt war

While Molotov cocktails burn on Athens’ streets, more vitriolic battles yet are blazing over Greece’s debt crisis behind the scenes, as financial markets and eurozone politicians fight their ground .

War has broken out in Greece. But the battleground is not on the streets, where rioters are venting their fury at planned spending cuts and painful social austerity. It’s on stock market floors and in the political corridors from Athens to Berlin and Brussels. The debt-ridden Mediterranean country is fighting for its future while, for the rest of Europe, Greece has become the frontline for the battle to save the euro.