Olli Rehn and Elena Panaritis on Cyprus economic crash

The above video is of European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn speaking in the immediate aftermath of last night’s Cyprus bailout deal. I was struck by his ominous tone, promising tough times ahead for Cypriots and comparing the likely fallout to the impact on the island of the Turkish invasion in 1974. ‘Cyprus and the Cypriots,’ he said, ‘have gone through very difficult times before – and you know what I mean – and the Cypriots have overcome these difficult times. There will tough times ahead as well; but I’m sure that by working hard together, we shall overcome these difficulties.’

Below is Greek economist and former Pasok MP Elena Panaritis speaking on BBC Radio 5 just after news of the Cyprus bailout deal came through last night. She too expects the Cypriot economy to be devastated by the troika ‘rescue’ and draws particular attention to the fate of pension funds that will be hit by the levy on €100,000 plus deposits and the winding up of Laiki bank. Panaritis also blames Greece’s economic meltdown for precipitating the crisis in Cyprus. ‘Don’t forget,’ she said, ‘that Cyprus is being punished for something not originated by themselves. Thirty percent of their GDP – in other words, the capital that has been lost from the banking sector – is because of the PSI and the Greek crisis. We, the Greeks, exported this terrible tragedy to Cyprus. I feel very awkward about Cyprus right now, being Greek myself.’