Price guards?
It really is touching to see that the government is on the front line in the battle against price hikes. How moving to see Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos threatening to crush profiteers as he heads a boycott against the humble lettuce trader. Equally affecting is the sight of the minister’s deputy conducting spot checks at the street markets, throwing withering looks at tomatoes and cursing the greens that exposed his government. Overall, it is quite poignant that the government has only now – nine months after the introduction of the euro – begun to realize that our new currency might be to blame for outrageous price hikes. The first explanation for this is that those who govern us don’t have time to go shopping and so cannot stay abreast of price changes. The second is that these governors failed to ensure that our wallets would be safe even if petrol prices reached the level of champagne. But, we are now told, «measures will be implemented.» First of all, a price watchdog will be established – no doubt at the the top of a very tall building to facilitate the observation of products on a downward trajectory. Measure No. 2: checks at toll gates on all imported fruit and vegetables. And so on… Until such measures are introduced, we will continue to calculate in drachmas and pay in euros. But at least we’ll be proud that our leaders have praised us as «the EU citizens best adapted to the euro.»
