Obama To Pressure Eurozone To Keep Greece In Until After US Presidential Election

Things that make you go, “Hmmmm” …

By Oliver Wright, The Independent – “The Obama administration will pressure European governments not to let Greece fall out of the eurozone before November’s Presidential elections, British Government sources have suggested.

Representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission are due to arrive in Athens next month to assess Greece’s reform efforts.

They are expected to report in time for an 8 October meeting of eurozone finance ministers which will decide on whether to disburse Greece’s next €31bn aid tranche, promised under the terms of the bailout for the country.

American officials are understood to be worried that if they decide Greece has not done enough to meet its deficit targets and withhold the money, it would automatically trigger Greece’s exit from the eurozone weeks before the Presidential election on 6 November.

They are urging eurozone Governments to hold off from taking any drastic action before then – fearing that the resulting market destabilisation could damage President Obama’s re-election prospects.” Read more.

Flashback: Greek Exit From Euro Could Plunge US Into Recession – “If Greece leaves the euro, the U.S. economy could easily slip into recession. That cost is worth bearing, however, given the long term consequences of Europe struggling with a currency regime that makes little sense… Europe is an important market for U.S. exports and those will stagnate. As importantly, US banks and investors will take a hit from a further declining euro and reduced European bank lending activity in the United States and in countries that buy American products. Overall, expect U.S. growth to slow by 0.5 to 1 percent from the fallout of Greece leaving the euro.” Read more.