///// Are the people of Greece really prepared to open the gates of this new economic hell? The answer must surely be yes — if only on the basis that they believe they really don’t have anything to lose. ///// ... Maybe a Syriza government would end the corruption and restore prosperity to the ordinary people of Greece. Maybe not. Even some of their more optimistic supporters recognise that voting for them is a gamble. And the stakes could not be higher. The outcome of this election will not only determine the future of Greece, but may well influence every member state of the European Union. Syriza promises to renegotiate the agreement that Greece reached with the so-called troika — the EU Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — which it signed in return for the massive bailout four years ago. It would not only end the austerity programme, but would also demand that the loan repayment be slashed. I tried and failed this week to get one of the most senior figures in the party to be more specific, but the assumption is they would demand their repayment be cut in half. Chancellor Merkel of Germany, the most powerful figure in the troika and leader of Europe’s richest country, has made it clear that’s about as likely to happen as Greece blowing up the Parthenon. She — and everyone else — knows that if Syriza were to get what it wants, within 24 hours a long queue would form of all the other indebted countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy, demanding a cut in their debts, too. The European Union would collapse under the strain. But what if Greece and its new government is told to pay up in full, and they say no? Then it seems inevitable that Greece would leave the eurozone. Nobody knows what might follow, because theoretically it cannot happen. European law forbids it. Membership of the euro is, like a puppy, not for Christmas but for life. And almost nobody in Greece wants it to break away. They fear the unknown. So does everyone else in Europe — including the financial markets and our own government. Merkel has been trying to stiffen resolve across the continent, suggesting that if a so-called ‘Grexit’ happens, it won’t be the end of the world. Perhaps not, but many believe it might be the end of the euro — and let’s not forget that the EU is Britain’s biggest trading partner. Are the people of Greece really prepared to open the gates of this new economic hell? The answer must surely be yes — if only on the basis that they believe they really don’t have anything to lose. This, after all, is a country that has been through several kinds of hell in living memory. An unspeakably brutal Nazi occupation. A civil war that tore the country apart. A cruel military dictatorship. As I saw for myself yet again this week, the people of Greece can put up with a lot. Whatever the future may hold for them, it can’t be worse than what has happened in the past.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 06:02:25 +0000
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