Re:Varoufakis to Publish Notorious Eurogroup Recordings from...
by everybodyknows on Friday February 21, 2020 @03:45PM
(#22386531)
> in a timely fashion
This is the crux of it: All involved (except Varoufakis) apparently thought their words would remain secret forever. This is bad for democracy, because it nurtures conspiracy theories. Prompt publication is likewise bad, because it hardens negotiating positions at a distance far apart, and makes participants fearful of speaking uncomfortable truths.
The US Federal Reserve publishes its minutes, but only some time well after the participants go home. Live-tweets on their hourly progress -- say, from Mar-a-Lago -- are not a concern.
Re:Varoufakis to Publish Notorious Eurogroup Recordings from...
by tsimionescu on Friday February 21, 2020 @01:49PM
(#22385630)
Painful compromise should be taken only with the assent of those who will feel the pain. Otherwise, it is sadism or carelessness, not painful compromise.
Quite often, especially with difficult issues, people have to take risks or make painful compromises or at least suggest them, even if the final result is nothing like them. Sometime people bluff, lie and distort in order to improve their position. There is give and take.
If everything is made public then you will essentially get discussions that are no better than discussions amongst the public, which everyone would agree is suboptimal.