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.