Germany and the Greek financial crisis
Please take a note
I am totally against popular opinion that is virulent in Germany against financial aid for the Greek economy.
The common opinion in Germany is: we are not responsible for settling the Greeks debts.
Of course the Germans are not responsible (although they believe their share amounts to 100 percent, it is only 22.5 percent). Still they have to contribute because they have made a considerable profit from the euro and the European market.
Please take note that most of the German public really does not have any idea of what the Greek population has been going through the past year. And there is very little information here about the social problems that have been taking place in Greece.
In innumerable blogs we are trying to oppose the major German propaganda press such as Bild and Focus who have supported anti-Greek sentiment.
I know about corruption and an inflated bureaucracy in Greece. This is something that should be changed and certainly will be changed in a certain span of time.
I am a lawyer and used to be a member of the German Liberal Party and thus let me assure you that I know corruption and economic failure is something very normal over here in Germany, something we should all be ashamed of. Unfortunately the German press tends to mention this kind of misgovernment merely in the context of southern European countries, which is nothing but arrogant, and very short-sighted.
I am ashamed of some German politicians who demanded Greece should for instance pledge Greek soil to some financial institution or to German or French banks.
We have promoted a couple of articles in Germany, especially in the business press, that have proven that Germany indeed has so far made a satisfactory profit from the Greek crisis, based, above all, on the considerable interest charge that is a burden on the Greek economy.
Please understand, there is nobody in any of the countless television talk shows over here who is speaking for Greece. Nobody! Neither the Greek ambassador nor any Greek politician has ever appeared on German television in order to explain what is currently going on:
– the drastic pay cuts
– the incredible price increases
– the rise of unemployment, above all among the young
It is necessary that Greeks living in Greece appear on German television or elsewhere to explain the current situation. Otherwise, the arrogance or ignorance (which in this case means they do not know) of a, I must admit, very large part of the German society cannot be stopped.
I am trying my best to convey your opinions and thoughts over here through the diverse media and Internet blogs as far as I am able to.
Please do not refer to Hitler and Nazi Germany. These are not arguments that count and they are highly irrelevant. Germany has nothing to do with a fascist country.
Stefan Wilke
The financial crisis
Firstly, sell assets of any kind that do not undermine the future of the country. If your country is too proud to sell land then it’s your people’s problem. Basically it’s time to be aware of the fact that modern Greece is not ancient Greece with its over-stressed ‘Glorious Past’.
Secondly, don’t rely on a caste of politicians that carry names like Papandreou and the likes, reminding of a succession of members of a pseudo-noble class. They are dispensable because they are power-hungry and corrupted.
Peter Krauliz
