OPINION

Who?s ruling the country?

As things stand, only honesty and straight talk can ensure that the public discourse is maintained. Technically, Greece has not stopped being a sovereign state. Essentially, however, both the government and Parliament have lost their authority to decide on the course that the country is to take on a socioeconomic level. This is attested by the fact that whenever Athens has disagreed, it has been the line adopted by Greece?s troika of international lenders — the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank — that has prevailed. The government is simply not governing. It has become an enforcement mechanism for policies dictated by the European hierarchy and the IMF. After hesitation, delays and backtracking, Athens eventually follows their orders. As far as the MPs of the ruling party are concerned, they do not legislate according to their own free will, but, rather, under threat of the collapse of the government and the bankruptcy of the country.

Greece is not dealing with the usual brand of creditor, interested only in getting its money back. In contrast to the Greek government, the troika has worked out a comprehensive political plan. This is the usual antidote prescribed by the IMF to reform indebted countries through the method of shock therapy.

Anyone can have an opinion about the antidote and the manner in which it is administered. Some believe shock therapy to be ultimately destructive, while others, like Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos, see it as a blessing. What is important, though, is to admit two irrefutable truths: The first concerns the question of who is governing this country. This country is essentially being governed by the troika. The second is that the European hierarchy and the IMF see the revival of the Greek economy in flattening it. With the mass sell-off of public companies and assets, coupled with measures to significantly reduce the cost of labor, they are trying to transform Greece into a land of opportunity for European capital. We are not making this up. The troika had said from the start that it is aiming at an internal devaluation. An international devaluation, however, cannot be achieved without a recession.

As far as the people are concerned, we should know exactly where we stand, so that public discourse can be based on fact rather than on ideologically motivated conjecture.

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