A German Fantasy

Reading as I do about the crimes and stupidities of humankind in the field of ethics, it is hard to surprise me, even harder to astonish me. And yet, today that happened. The German ambassador to the United States wrote an essay entitled, “Germany Wants a Strong Greece.” And that is easy to believe if I wipe away the memories of the last five years.

Greece wants a strong Greece. Yes, when the Russians bombed Helsinki in 1939, the Russian foreign minister, Molotov denied it and said they were dropping bread to the poor oppressed people of the city. Maybe the Germans will drop a similar brand of bread on Greece. After all the Greeks are poor and oppressed.

Forgive me if I sound angry but I seem to recall an IMF study that shows under the agreement imposed almost entirely by the German Minister of Finance, Greece will not be able to pay off its debt in fifteen years and quite possibly never. Call me a cynic but a fifteen year period of austerity (possibly for much longer, eternity?) doesn’t sound like a deal someone made with a great love for the Greeks.

The events of the last few weeks include a refusal to deal with Greece by the European Union until it agreed in advance to their demands. Once this had been done, the Greeks were made to sell off 50 billions Euros worth of government property which is to be placed safely outside Greek control. The agreement doubled the sales tax in Greece putting the hammer down on any hope of a healthy tourist industry, one of Greece’s vital sources of revenue. I could go on, but why bother? It’s item after item after item.

The only large group of people who believe that the Germans have been kind to the Greeks are other Germans.

The Germans have almost single handedly imposed an economic regime on Greece which is almost certain to fail. The hardship imposed on the Greeks in roughly equivalent to that endured in the United States during the Great Depression and if the International Monetary Fund is right, it could last for decades.

Does that sound like a strong Greece?

Maybe the German word for strong means servile, weak and helpless?

I’m use to corporate flacks saying anything they are told to. But this? Maybe when you have needlessly crippled a country so that it will never pay off its debts, maybe when your own enormous debts have been forgive twice in the last century, maybe when you appear to all the world as great cruel bully, you should just keep a low profile?

Or maybe your self-righteousness is so overpowering, you just can’t believe that everyone just needs a little push to understand how wonderful you are. This is a German fantasy. The real surprise is that they apparently believe they are kind and generous, acting out of a genuine concern for the Greek people. God save all of us from that kind of love.

James Pilant

Germany Wants a Strong Greece | Peter Wittig

Germany wants a strong Greece, because a thriving Greek economy benefits the eurozone as a whole. This is why Greece and the other 18 eurozone members agreed on a comprehensive reform package that will help Greece regain economic competitiveness. Some of these reforms were quickly approved by the Greek parliament — by an overwhelming majority. They will make Greece more competitive and economically sound.

via Germany Wants a Strong Greece | Peter Wittig.