The Greek Defence
Encyclopedia
"The Greek Defence" refers to a justification used by the United Kingdom
political party the Liberal Democrats
after they changed the direction of their economic policy after the 2010 General Election. Upon voting as part of the coalition government
for policies they'd previously opposed, they highlighted the dangers posed to the UK economy if it were to mirror the situation facing the Greek economy
.
This become known as "The Greek Defence" and was seized on by political opponents as a way to justify an apparent about face. In the House of Commons Labour
MP Ed Miliband
attacked the position being defended by Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne
saying "So there we have it : The Greek defence. A person may vote Liberal Democrat, but along sails The Greek Defence, which means that one does not need to keep one's promises. Promises do not mean anything from the Liberal Democrats if something happens in Greece".
It has since come to take on a wider meaning of justifying a reversal of one's opinion due to something completely unrelated.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
political party the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
after they changed the direction of their economic policy after the 2010 General Election. Upon voting as part of the coalition government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
for policies they'd previously opposed, they highlighted the dangers posed to the UK economy if it were to mirror the situation facing the Greek economy
2010 European sovereign debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning some European states, intensifying in early 2010 and thereafter.....
.
This become known as "The Greek Defence" and was seized on by political opponents as a way to justify an apparent about face. In the House of Commons Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
attacked the position being defended by Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
saying "So there we have it : The Greek defence. A person may vote Liberal Democrat, but along sails The Greek Defence, which means that one does not need to keep one's promises. Promises do not mean anything from the Liberal Democrats if something happens in Greece".
It has since come to take on a wider meaning of justifying a reversal of one's opinion due to something completely unrelated.