The ever ongoing 'Greek Crisis' has thrown up some bad politics, worse economics and an awful lot of bile ..... but one has to hand the prize red ribbon for the bile to Mr Yanis Varoufakis, the now 'Ex' finance minister of Greece. He hardly pulled his punches when it came to insulting those whose money he wanted to get hold of.
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| Images Much Like This Are Circulating The Web .... |
"Germany must be proud of the fact that Nazism has been eradicated here",
he said on a visit to Berlin, and he then carried on and brought up the
economic depression in Weimar Germany that brought Adolf Hitler to
power ..... hardly tactful, and as he then went on to mention the rise
of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in Greece, the inference was plain and
brutal to his hosts.
.... As he is an exponent of 'games theory' many suspect that he is, and has been, playing very clever mind games with the IMF, the Euro-Zone leadership and the EU generally. However I have been to Greece a lot, and there is and has always been (well since the 1940's with the German occupation of the second World War and then US role in the Greek civil war) a dislike for both the Germans (generally) and the US to a lesser degree, but especially from the Greek left such as the governing left-wing Syriza party. This was demonstrated clearly to me on 9/11 ( I was there, and I saw this for myself that day).
I therefore suspect that this is less games theory, and more a gut reaction to the IMF which is seen as a US vehicle, and the Euro-zone leadership which is dominated by the Germans, a toxic combination of enemies for those Greeks who believe them to yet again, be the architects of Greece's problems.
Last word to the man himself after he was 'forced' to resign "I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride" .... well I guess we find out shortly whether he can still make that boast after the Greeks cave in and accept the terms they rejected last week.
I therefore suspect that this is less games theory, and more a gut reaction to the IMF which is seen as a US vehicle, and the Euro-zone leadership which is dominated by the Germans, a toxic combination of enemies for those Greeks who believe them to yet again, be the architects of Greece's problems.
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| Torch Light Processions Raise An Old Spectre For The Left .... |
Last word to the man himself after he was 'forced' to resign "I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride" .... well I guess we find out shortly whether he can still make that boast after the Greeks cave in and accept the terms they rejected last week.
The Greeks have ended up with worse terms than they rejected. How stupid is that? So much for games theory tactics politics.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it matters, the terms are not sustainable in any event.
DeleteWell we all know that they will be back with the begging bowl in 18 months or so. The loans are just to pay back the earlier loans. Robbing Petroculous to pay Paulous, so to speak.
DeleteThe whole plan is likely to unravel in the next Greek elections, which are, let me see, oh yes, next mont.
DeleteIt certainly seems to be a fragile compromise. Thanks for the comment.
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