Why we need another Greek crisis

The eurozone is in urgent need of reform, says Matthew Lynn. Another Greek crisis might be what's needed to force a rethink.

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Riots in Athens: all part of the drill by now
(Image credit: Copyright (c) 2017 Rex Features. No use without permission.)

Everyone knows the drill for Greek bailout talks by now. There is a lot of posturing on both sides. The Germans insist that the Greeks have to pay for their mistakes, there are riots in Athens, and some late-night emergency meetings in Brussels, followed by a spike in bond yields. And then at the last minute the government agrees to another round of austerity, enough money to keep the debt interest ticking over is wired across, and the whole thing is forgotten about.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.