A lot of people think the whole trouble with Europe started with the Lehman Brothers fiasco. True? False? Financial manipulations are difficult for the layman to assess, and there’s a side to money that has practically become virtual nowadays.
Back to Greece: more than 75% of the population wants to stay in the EU, and most of those still think we should keep the euro. Why? In some ways, having our own currency – being able to devalue and print money in order to stay competitive – would be a bonus.
The answer, at least partly, can be found in the past – there are other angles, historical and geopolitical, that provide an explanation. The Yalta conference in 1945 meant we remained a free democracy, while the rest of the Balkan countries were absorbed into the Soviet maw. For decades, we were a small country surrounded on all sides by an empire we feared. Then, from 1967 to 1974, we suffered a seven year military dictatorship, culminating in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Europe, for us, means safety as well as progress and civilization.
It is true we have not always used the benefits of the EU wisely. But it is also true that there was mismanagement on all sides. Europe is teetering. The British want out, believing inclusion is harming their business prospects. At least, they want a much better deal. And it is a fact that the integration of European financial markets has not gone according to plan.
For example, borrowing money for Greeks comes at a much higher cost than for the French or the Germans. Businesses, big and small, are suffering. Combined with the huge cuts in income borne by almost every Greek, this means the private sector is all but dead.
At the moment, it seems some kind of agreement is being reached. The Greek stock market has risen today on the strength of the news, but will the new deal just prolong the agony? Maybe we will avoid instant catastrophe, but unless something fundamental changes, we are still dying a slow death. Meanwhile, the PM’s party, SYRIZA, are vowing not to vote in the necessary reforms…
And people are queuing to get money out of the banks, amidst fears of capital controls. Go figure.
Life continues to proceed on a knife’s edge, reminding me of one of my favorite quotations, by Marcus Aurelius:
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.
Letters from Athens 