In a regular country with a fundamentally serious government and a responsible prime minister, one would expect on the day that a bailout memorandum ends to hear what the plan is for the next day. One would want to know how the economy will grow, how we will confront the challenges of the markets, and how we will rely on our own forces from now on, now that the cheap borrowing from the supposedly dread Europeans will end.
Instead, we heard the SYRIZA claptrap that we have known for years, with the refrain “It’s either us or them”. Once again, a cheap communications management overshadowed the need for self-awareness and a basic political and managerial competence. The cursed memorandums came from above because certain people squandered public funds, while chronic ailments were designated as badges of resistance.
In a critical period, the country is plying forward with untrammeled populism and the opportunistic objectives of Mr. Tsipras and his associates as the only compass.
Despite the huge sacrifices that Greek citizens have made, we are again in a period of uncertainty, with the government bearing enormous responsibility. With elections on the horizon, the first concern of the Prime Minister and those who surround him is their own survival, and not the country’s path toward a safe harbour.
The only plan that they appear to have in mind is to lead the country into extreme polarisation, so as to preserve the critical mass of their electoral base of support.
They do not appear to understand that from now on, without a European security net, every action and decision of the government will be scrutinised by the markets, on which the funding of the economy depends.
It took eight tortuous years to exit from the memorandums, whereas Ireland, Portugal, and Cyprus did it in three years. That is because the overwhelming majority of forces in our political system proved unable to rise to the occasion.
Our government saddled us with an unnecessary third memorandum, with tens of billions of euros in additional debt, and it appears ready to continue on the same catastrophic path.
It is the responsibility and duty of citizens and the country’s productive forces not to allow them to do that.
