Sunday, March 4, 2012

Emissaries from the west dispensing Francosense and Mer (kel ).

Be it in the wealth of historical myths, actual history, archaeological remains and artefacts or in the initial activities which led to our modern day Olympics, Greece has been in the midst of world history for a long time. As with many nations , the rise and fall of good fortune appears inevitable at various stages of history, and so it seems with Greece.

It's membership of the Eurozone has brought challenges, hardship and , now, the distinct possibility of expulsion by payment default ( a state of affairs that may be an all too common feature of the present partnership of countries involved! ).  It possibly begs the question of whether Greece, and even others , ought ever to have been accepted into membership in the first place!! Whilst the politicians, the non-tax paying populace and others have all been blamed for the current situation the fact remains that Greece may never be in a position to actually pay the increasing debts with which it is being encouraged to burden itself.  The recurrent arrival of wise emissaries from the west bearing gifts of Francosense and Mer (kel ) with cries of " Lo, where is this sick child to whom we must offer financial succour in times of need ?"  does little to alter its predicament.  Figures I've unearthred suggest the unemployment level of the young is 48 % and the debt burden overr GDP is astronomical verging on the level of impossible as far as liquidation is concerned.

It also seems that there is no formal means of withdrawal from the membership  ( almost like a Direct Debit you can never cancel!! ) , the source of which is our own Foreign Secretary, William Hague.  Perhaps this was a feature which was overlooked  at the beginning, but is assuming an ever important profile given present circumstances. Given the overall circumstances would it not be sensible to explore a dignified, sensible alternative for Greece that minimises the effects on all ,as opposed to allowing this charade to continue. It's like the stranger offering sweets to get in the car outside the school gates.......it'll all end in tears!  Whilst the ECB has offered out funds this week to inject flexibility into the various economies, the reaction of several of the successfully bidding banks for these funds has been to place such funds on deposit and, as a consequence, make money. Naivete or greed, or incompetence and a willingness to ignore the need of the collective team message! Whatever the situation, Greece may be loathe to admit the extent to which it's in an extreme depth of "do da" and to try and continually sort out a situation of which the odds are impossible in the extreme. The country needs help  in facing a disaster and withdrawal from an international partnership it can't fulfil its obligations to at present. This is like offering a sub prime mortgage to a country you know is going to have to throw in the keys at some point. Is that responsible ?