Lokali

Of Greeks and exits!

17 ta' Frar 2015

The election of the radical left-wing party Syriza in Greece was always expected to trigger a stand-off between the Greek government led by Alexis Tsipras and pretty much the rest of the European Union. Sure enough, not long after Tsipras and his men have taken office, the stand-off is now a reality.

At first glance Greece’s demands may seem reasonable. Who wouldn’t argue against measures which are seemingly causing a widespread decrease in the standard of living of the average Greek? Who wouldn’t argue for the end of the austerity measures given their massive unpopularity, and for good reason.

Yet the Greek demands, should they be acceeded to, represent a far greater danger to the European Union than any Greek exit of the Eurozone ever could. Whilst flexibility is always healthy and desirable there is a difference between disciplined flexibility and flexibility to the point of reducing the rule book to not being worth the paper it is printed on.

For years on end Greece lived well beyond its means. Government after government pandered to cheap populism and failed to take the decisive measures that had long been needed.

This is not a matter of punishing Greece or indeed the innocent Greek citizen. It is simply a matter of showing that a state cannot expect to get away with sheer political irresponsability.

At first glance exceeding to Syriza’s demands may seem the more merciful option but a second look would reveal that doing so would be punishing every single member state that has played by the rules, no matter how unpalatable playing by those said rules may have sometimes seemed.

A Greek exit from the Eurozone is not desirable and should be avoided as much as possible. Yet at this stage, with Tsipras and his mouthpiece Varoufakis digging in their heels and sticking to their guns due to political reasons, it should definitely be an option left on the table; all be it as a last resort which should only be taken once all other options have run out.

What a shame that the great nation of Greece and its great people have been reduced to this by successive irresponsible Greek governments.


BLOGS

Of Greeks and exits!

17 ta' Frar 2015

The election of the radical left-wing party Syriza in Greece was always expected to trigger a stand-off between the Greek government led by Alexis Tsipras and pretty much the rest of the European Union. Sure enough, not long after Tsipras and his men have taken office, the stand-off is now a reality.

At first glance Greece’s demands may seem reasonable. Who wouldn’t argue against measures which are seemingly causing a widespread decrease in the standard of living of the average Greek? Who wouldn’t argue for the end of the austerity measures given their massive unpopularity, and for good reason.

Yet the Greek demands, should they be acceeded to, represent a far greater danger to the European Union than any Greek exit of the Eurozone ever could. Whilst flexibility is always healthy and desirable there is a difference between disciplined flexibility and flexibility to the point of reducing the rule book to not being worth the paper it is printed on.

For years on end Greece lived well beyond its means. Government after government pandered to cheap populism and failed to take the decisive measures that had long been needed.

This is not a matter of punishing Greece or indeed the innocent Greek citizen. It is simply a matter of showing that a state cannot expect to get away with sheer political irresponsability.

At first glance exceeding to Syriza’s demands may seem the more merciful option but a second look would reveal that doing so would be punishing every single member state that has played by the rules, no matter how unpalatable playing by those said rules may have sometimes seemed.

A Greek exit from the Eurozone is not desirable and should be avoided as much as possible. Yet at this stage, with Tsipras and his mouthpiece Varoufakis digging in their heels and sticking to their guns due to political reasons, it should definitely be an option left on the table; all be it as a last resort which should only be taken once all other options have run out.

What a shame that the great nation of Greece and its great people have been reduced to this by successive irresponsible Greek governments.