Libya goes to the polls on Saturday (July 7)

  Today (Friday) is a cooling off day with no campaigning before polling starts tomorrow. The National Transitional Council has declared a holiday so people can vote.
   Many residents in the eastern part of the country are angry that they have been allocated only 60 seats in the 200 member assembly that is to be elected. Indeed there have been demonstrations and even a fire in Ajdabiya that destroyed ballots. An election office was also stormed in Benghazi There is also conflict still ongoing in the south of the country between different tribes. In some areas voting may not even be possible.
    There are 2,500 candidates running for the 200 seats. Many of those running have Islamist agendas. Under the Gadaffi regime parties were outlawed as promoting disunity. No doubt regional and tribal conflicts will remain after the voting is over. For more see this article.

Greek officials meet with Troika to discuss bailout terms

   Greek officials meet with the Troika officials (European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund) to discuss the terms of the Greek bailout fund. Yannis Stournaras an economist is the new Greek finance minister.
  Greece has imposed unpopular stringent austerity measures including cuts to salaries and pensions and higher taxes. However Greece is still struggling to reach financial targets and hopes to revise some of the conditions. However Sweden's Finance Minister said:"The way the situation has been handled so far, and with the high debt levels they have it can't be ruled out that it will all finally end in a bankruptcy.''
 The Greek government is now a three party coalition with New Democracy being the largest partner. However, the leftist anti-austerity party Styriza came a close second in the elections. The government is to present a policy statement on Friday evening to parliament.  Reports are that the coalition is recommending freezing public sector layoffs and repealing some tax hikes. This might produce some economic growth but may be resisted by the Troika.
   The bailouts total 300 billion. Germany has demanded that Greece stick to its austerity program. If the new government does not achieve any significant changes in the austerity program there could be considerable social unrest. For more see this article.