Breeding extremes while spurning national pride and leading the Greeks into constant misery by Giorgos Kontogiannis

http://www.ovimagazine.com/art/8236

For years, they have been accepting every financial record provided to them by any government, without controlling it, as they were supposed to. For two years, since October 2009 until November 2011, they have been tolerating a prime minister as well as the leadership of the political parties, who not only refused to confront the rough financial reality, but also take decisions which would decelerate the crisis.


During all this time, as supported by Jacques Delors, they have proved themselves a deficient political leadership for Europe, as the measures that they have struggled to decide, have always been surpassed by events. A prime example is that of the “haircut” of the Greek bonds. We started back in summer with 21%, we went on to 50% on the 26th October and today we are negotiating a 70%.

For two years, they have been imposing or they have been accepting the imposition of measures, which were completely extrinsic to Greek distinctiveness and reality and were actually reinforcing the recession instead of creating conditions that would favour development. They smashed the salaries and pensions, killed the market and took no substantial measure to liberate the economy from all those chains, quagmires and counter incentives that brewed corruption to today’s state of affairs.

Now…. They are suggesting that a commissioner be appointed to implement our country’s budget.

It’s obvious that they haven’t learned nor understood anything from their mistakes.
It’s obvious that they haven’t realized that which Ntora Mpakogianni pointed out; from now they will carry full responsibility for the social tension that will follow the new sacrifices they want to impose on the people.

Evaggelos Venizelos is also right in reminding them that the humiliating conditions imposed on a defeated Germany by the victors of WWI encouraged  phenomena like that of Nazism. Greece might not be under the same circumstances but European leaders and creditors push the electorate to its limits regardless of what it entails for future political developments.

Our creditors must finally comprehend that in order to realize any measures being implemented or that they are willing to, there must be a modicum of consensus or at least toleration by the people that is suffering and is at the brink of collapse. 22% of the Greek people are living in poverty while another 21% approaches similar conditions.

Have they realized that when a father sees his children hungry and can’t afford to buy them even milk, will stop at nothing?

Have they realized that the way they are trying to impose their decisions there are ridiculing the political power, degrading the notion of a unified Europe and European solidarity and forcing the people to take to the streets?

When the people take to the streets in anger, no power political reason can stop them. There are numerous examples in history. As long as abuse of authority and political ineptness of leaders such as in Europe today is repeated, then the people react as during the storming of the Bastille.

The wrath of the people is a river that continuously floods and will eventually drown decade-old political systems and perceptions, without mercy and sometimes, without reason. That’s when vulgar secularism, upheld by some political leaderships, takes hold.

Europe must understand that it is towards her interests that Greece be saved. The financial ramifications of an official Greek bankruptcy will be uncontrollable. Greece must be saved but Greeks must be also saved. If Greeks, instead of the Greek state, run bankrupt financially, socially and morally, the consequences will be worse. In any case Mr. Papadimos, as well as the leaders of the political parties partaking in the government must send a resounding message to our creditors, that Greece is capable of deciding and implementing the necessary measures to lead the country out of the crisis and on to the road to development, not to recession as it was forced to by the Papandreou administration and the troika. In order to do so, sacrifices must be made by them as well. They must understand that in order for a fair wind to sail in the SV (sailing vessel) Hellas we must sacrifice our own Iphigenia, none other than our personal interests, from the last to the first citizen of this country.

Our creditors must understand that we will not ever again allow a state of occupation and military or financial commissioners to exist in Greece. Whatever policy and any measures decided upon, must be implemented without infringing upon human dignity and the national pride of the Greeks.