Krugman: “The dynamic is different this time”

Paul Krugman could be on to something when he points out that small country politicians can have an incentive to go along with what the Davos Set (think troika) want, as once you are seen as a good member of the club, there’s no end of interesting jobs in the EU, IMF, etc that you could move on to, even if your own electorate have given you a right rollicking at the polls. Adhering to being a good ‘Default Man‘ can result in reward, but if you’re not part of that set, and know you never will be….

“But a genuine government of the left, as opposed to the center-left, is very different — not because its policy ideas are wild and crazy, which they aren’t, but because its officials are never going to be held in high esteem by the Davos set. Alexis Tsipras is not going to be on bank boards of directors, president of the BIS, or, probably, an EU commissioner. Varis Yanoufakis doesn’t even like wearing ties — which, consciously or not, is a way of declaring visually that he is not going to play the usual game. The new Greek leaders will succeed or fail, personally, based on what happens to Greece; there will be no consolation prizes for failing conventionally.

Do Berlin and Brussels understand this? If not, they are operating under a dangerous misconception.”

Maybe you have less to lose? Via Greece: The Tie That Doesn't Bind – NYTimes.com.