Feb
12
By Paolo von Schirach
February 12, 2012
WASHINGTON – True to form, the Greeks had to drag the signing of a most critical deal that will allow the release of essential EU funds (130 billion Euro) until the very end. The government headed by Lucas Papademos haggled and negotiated with the so called “troika”, (EU, European Central Bank and IMF), until the very last minute; only to be sent back (with considerable public humiliation) to the drawing board by its European partners, because the additonal austerity measures they were willing to commit to were, alas, insufficient.
“Go back and do it again, and then vote on it”
And so, once more under duress, huffing and puffing, the Greeks had to come up with bigger budget cuts and a more painful package of public sector jobs firings. And that alone would not be enough. The coalition government was essentially “ordered” by the EU to have the package voted on by the Greek Parliament. Meaning: “We do not trust you. We have negotiated stuff with you before and you did not implement much of anything. So, we want at least a show of hands here. Unless a majority is clearly on board, no deal. You get no more money from us“.
Yes, this is public humiliation. At some point, earlier in the game, the Germans had even suggested the creation of a special EU post with the sole function of supervising the implementation of the Greek austerity measures. That did not fly, but you get the picture in terms of an atmosphere that I would not call trusting and relaxed.
Rioting is now standard practice
But this is not the whole story. There is much worse. While the Parliament was forced to vote, the people, apparently held different views. As they have done many times in the recent past, they rioted against the whole thing, at times violently. And this is bad enough because it shows an ongoing, chronic inability to take responsibility for a self-inflicted wound.
Rioting against what, really? Rioting because the people do not want to suffer the consequences of decades of profligacy? Or rioting against the hated Northern Europeans who impose such harsh conditions? Either way this open rebellion against the medicine that the country will have to take for years is a bad omen. The leaders were forced to accept more austerity, as the alternative was bankruptcy. But the country is clearly not on board. When the Greeks will have to implement this package I expect a lot of obfuscation and delays, if not outright cheating.
Widespread looting explained away
But there is even worse news. As the Greek Parliament was debating the package it finally passed, along with the now standard rioting , many buildings were set on fire, while dozens of businesses were looted. And this is the issue –looting.
What concerns me is that in this confused world in which all sorts of protesters always get a benevolent hearing, (think of the reverence which US media treated the Occupy Wall Street Movement with), looting is considered by the media and various commentators as just another way to legitimately express political opposition.
Even the very Greek Government is reluctant to take a hard stance, setting the tone for tolerance for the lawbreakers. Indeed, commenting on the riots, Prime Minister Papademos said: ”I call on the public to show calm. At these crucial times, we do not have the luxury of this type of protest. I think everyone is aware of how serious the situation is“.
Whereas, what he should have said is: “All law breakers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”. But who knows, this might have incited more violence that a weak government does not know how to deal with.
Just as in the London massive looting that followed the riots triggered by a serious incident, it seems that these days public discontent with… whatever is a good enough excuse for breaking into shops and stealing goods. And this stealing is explained away as just another way to manifest anger. From this it would follow that people are driven to break into shops and steal by policies they deem to be bad. Really? Is that so?
Confused society
What we see in Greece is unfortunately the unraveling of a society stubbornly unwilling to take responsibility for its own totally self-inflicted wounds. Accepting or explaining away massive lawlessness is just another indication of mental confusion in a country in which irresponsible behavior practiced for decades became morally right.
Given this rather inauspicious scenario, I would be surprised if Greece, even with all the help it is getting from its EU partners and from the IMF, will ever mature into a modern liberal democracy.
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