Monday, 3 October 2011
Geopoliticalmonitor.com
As the Greek Debt Crisis drags on with no end in sight, it is becoming
harder and harder to skirt around one wholly uncomfortable though
increasingly unavoidable question: Who is all this bailing out and
austerity really for- the Greek people, or the European banks that
financed their government?
Even though the Greek government has recently gone back to its people
to ask for yet another round of tough austerity policies meant to get
the annual budget deficit under control, it seems that it won’t even
be close to enough. Officials in Athens recently admitted that the
7.6% deficit year-end goal that they set for themselves was out of
reach: the global economy will have to settle for a deficit of 8.5% of
the Greek GDP. Of course, this is all taking place against the
backdrop of a Greek economy that has shrunk 10% in the last year and
is reeling from 16.3% unemployment.
Cue another dose of red on trading floors around the world.
Despite the skewed impression that international media might give the
casual observer, Greeks aren’t taking this newest round of cuts
sitting down. Various unions have taken to the streets, including
transportation workers, air traffic controllers, and teachers. Greek
newspapers are also taking an increasingly defiant tone in the face of
what they see as dictatorial demands from international creditors. As
the situation unfolds, we see a Greek government that has not only
detached itself from its people, but also floated into its own,
happier reality.
The important thing to take from this is: it’s not just the Germans
who have an increasingly limited appetite for shovelling cash into the
flames to stave off a default. The Greeks are fed up with it as well.
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