Small country with a big burden
The flood of references in the international media regarding the significance of the Greek election result tomorrow, putting little Greece in a crucial position in the big picture, places an unbearable burden on the citizens of this country. As Greeks head to the polls to cast their vote, they are not just considering the very dire circumstances they are experiencing today nor the bleak future that awaits their children; they are also thinking about the survival of the eurozone and warnings that a failure on a European level could trigger a new international crisis of greater proportions than the last.
The latter is now being stated openly, even though over the past two years of the Greek crisis political leaders around Greece, analysts and commentators were insisting that the sickness was endemic and that the cause was the unruly Greeks. Each for different reasons, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and Athens dragged their feet and failed to adopt measures that were radical and bold. Instead, they presented half-measures and moralistic lessons that resulted in the almost sadistic destruction of the Greek economy and society, and which have grown to present a threat to Europe as a whole.
The Americans, who were the only power to deal with the global recession of the 1930s with some degree of success, had diagnosed the European sickness long before Europe acknowledged it, from economist Paul Krugman to US President Barack Obama. Europe, however, is led by Angela Merkel and Wolfgang Schaeuble, the keepers of German economic orthodoxy and the visionaries of a European federation along the lines of the German Institute for Standardization.
The concept of a unified Europe has been shaken to the core — but it is not Greece?s fault. We have seen how many weak links there are in the European chain that have nothing to do with Greece. What Europe needs to do is rescue itself by rescuing Greece and it is true that for this to happen, Greece needs to pull itself together and elect a leadership that will first and foremost inspire the people, who are weary and disheartened. No government of political parties made up of the same old people carrying the burden of the same old sins is capable of shouldering this historical burden. It will collapse under the weight.
The polls will yield a result and the people will have their voices heard through the clashing rocks. All we need are the leadership figures that will listen.
