Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Is Europe destroying Greece's economy and political example?

I have to de-greece. What do I mean by that?

Rather than continuing my daily thirst for more and more news and analyses about the conflict between Greece and its creditors (a conflict telling us in succinct and exemplary way what is at stake in politics and economics), I should return to my normal hunger for news and analyses about what is going on in the world including Greece.

But just before de-greecing (how many posts did I write the last couple of months about the case of Greece?) and resuming my general interest in world politics and economics, let me discuss two pressing issues in Greece's conflict with its creditors that will remain: 
  • the "real" conflict between the Tsipras government and the Troika (EC, ECB and IMF)
  • the future of Europe and Greece.

In my view, the "real" issue at stake in the conflict between Tsipras and the Troika is that the latter wants to destroy the sex appeal and example of the new Greek government and the social forces that elected it, just as in the 1970s those who were against the Allende/Unidad Popular government in Chile (1970-1973) did everything possible to destroy the appeal and example of a government that took social democracy seriously and tried to change power relationships.

When Tsipras was elected in January 2015, he was an example for citizens and politicians in other European countries (in particular in Spain and Portugal) who hope that other policies than the current neoliberal ones would be possible. I am afraid the Troika has succeeded in undermining or decreasing that hope. But I hope I am wrong.

The future of Europe and Greece lies in the hands of both its citizens and its political leaders. Or more in the hands of its citizens?

Sure, Tsipras is also a political leader. But he is a political leader who, in the view of "serious" and "reasonable" Troika leaders (an image of themselves successfully propagated through mass media) should become as soon as possible an "adult" and "normal" leader, that is, one who does not try to defend the interests of "the" people until the end but one who accomodates his public statements of defending the interests of "the" people with his/her special  interest in defending the interests of those who have power.

Politics and democracy is about power and so the conflict between Greece and its creditors will remain an interesting case to follow for those who are concerned with democracy and the conditions in which people live, suffer and die (unnecessarily).

Among the many analyses about Greece I read this morning, there is one, published by the Washington Post, that I would like to recommend: "Europe is destroying Greece's economy for no reason at all".

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