It appears that Aeolus bags, that started bursting back in 2008 in the USA, still hold a lot of air, while we all struggle to produce more bags. Common sense is at a loss to comprehend world masochism, especially the Greek brand in which we do everything possible to multiply the crisis on all fronts.
Our handling of both the Greek crisis, which is of our own making and of the impact of the Middle East crisis are almost suicidal. Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus are out of their bail out agreements, while we have signed our Third and there could be more. How on earth did we manage through sheer stupidity and inability to precipitate the threat of yet another Grexit, this time from Shengen?
Our fiscal crisis was the unavoidable consequence of the galloping populism and irresponsibility of all post-euro Greek Governments, banks and business; Prolific flows of refugees, were the natural impact of Syriza policies on Turkish traffickers to bring more refugees to “sun themselves” – as Minister Christodoulopoulou put it – on our islands and cities.
However, the situation is not much better with respect to the “leaderships” of the rest of the Western world.
They rushed to bail out the banks with tax-payers’ money and then sent the bill to the people, through austerity programmes leaving the State Leviathan in tact. Negative interest rates are a sign of malaise; they do not give rise to investment in a climate of political uncertainty and indecision, but to fresh deviations of the financial system in the form of more toxic financial products.
On the other hand, having thoughtlessly nurtured and financed the rise of ISIS, now they spend even more to bomb it out. The stories of Vietnam, Irac, Afghanistan are repeated, but with more players as Turkey and Saudi Arabia are now financing the opposing factions of Islam. The only ones that profit are Turkish traffickers.
No one admits or is willing to understand that the root of the evil lies in morality, not economics. The development model of the Western world, now spread worldwide, has become a huge contemporary dinosaur. Hopelessly out of date, incapable to face current challenges from global immorality to climate change. “Too little, too late, too wrongly” is an appropriate description. Until we grasp this bankruptcy, there can be no progress and a way out of the crisis. Mr. Tsipras, if he really wishes to lead to a new Europe, should start with a confession of his grave mistakes – both conceptual and tactical – and an act of repentance of his sinful Left.