Sorry, but Greece isn’t victim of a ‘coup’. It’s a victim of the Euro

After 17 hours of negotiations Greece and its creditors have just agreed a third bailout deal – and already there’s a new hashtag campaign on Twitter protesting that #ThisIsACoup. Paul Krugman agrees. Why so? The terms of a €86bn, three-year bailout involve sharper sending cuts than those rejected by the Greeks in their recent referendum and flogging some €50bn of Greek assets which would be held in trust by some suitable institution in Athens (not outside it, as had been mooted earlier). If Greece didn’t agree, it was going to be offered “swift negotiations on time-out from the Euro” (below). This seems to have focused minds.

And this time: no wriggle room, no referenda. The Greek parliament must endorse the entire package by Wednesday  – including the reforms of VAT, pensions etc that were rejected in that referendum just a week ago. Many of those who took to the streets last weekend will now wonder why they bothered.

A week is a long time in politics: Greece celebrates a ‘no’ vote last weekend.