When the SYRIZA-ANEL government rose to power on January 25th, HellasFrappe had published a special report noting that it would limit its criticism of the new government until negotiations with our creditors ended, but there is a limit to everything. When we made this statement we had also stressed that any decision/action that was taken by the present government which was positive for Greece would be applauded by us (and we proved this with many of the articles that have been posted on this blog). Nonetheless, we also warned that if we felt that Greece was heading towards total destruction we would immediately ignore the honeymoon and grace period and begin stating our opinion!
Time is up; and we are up to here with all this insecurity and uncertainty.
Here are some areas that are deeply concerning to us.
ECONOMY
The new government has wasted almost three months in endless negotiations with Greece's creditors, following all its anti-memorandum rhetoric. In our opinion, its decision to extend the negotiations for two and a half months caused a resurgence of insecurity, and has more or less wiped away what trust had been built by the previous government of Antonis Samaras.
Let us make it clear, we are not claiming that the conservative government did a better job at managing this country's finances, but certainly no one can deny that the (international economic) mood was starting to change under ND's rule and things were starting to stabilize once again.
In other areas, the vice grip on liquidity has tightened, the funding gap was revealed and all remaining resources had to be pooled in the State's account at the Bank of Greece, in order to pay the loan payments to avoid another possible disorderly default that would in no doubt have caused catastrophic consequences for our nation.
In the real economy things are not only completely in the air but they have worsened to dangerous levels. Aside from a lack of funding from the banks, Greece now has a suspension of financial decisions from taxpayers, households, investors and businesses.
Why?
Simple, because many of those who voted for the new government, also voted for their past do not pay rhetoric.
And if that wasn't enough, some financial newspapers are even speaking of a new recession which they claim began in the first three months of this year and is now expected to cripple the last bits of the economy that withstood the long six year recession which the previous government was painfully getting us out of.
Only a handful of MPs in the government know exactly what is going on because they have finally come in tune with REALITY, but there are still too many forces in SYRIZA whose mental state forces science to lift its hands in the air.
SYRIZA may have won the elections with promises of a recovery, of tearing up the memorandums and blah blah, blah... but haven't they realized that this cannot happen? What will it take for these people to wake up and smell the coffee?
Today Greece only has a couple of days to come to an agreement or basically die.
Alexis Tsipras is obliged to do everything in his power to save the country from total destruction and forget about impressing a few members in his party who are clearly clueless of what the best interests of Greece actually are.
POLITICAL INSTABILITY
It is entertaining to watch various ministers in this Leftist government make proclamations one day which are then recalled by the senior administration the very same day! At the same time it is also quite pitiful because these officials insist on playing games of self-assertion, while ignoring the consequences of their words. They forget that Tsipras did not win the elections simply because he won the progressive vote, but because he also received quite a bit of support from many conservatives as well. It is almost like milking a stone for water, getting the extreme left-wing of SYRIZA to understand this is almost impossible. All of this of course is beginning to take affect public opinion. Indeed, the SYRIZA-ANEL party is still leading over the main opposition New Democracy party, but with all this uncertainty the general mood will give way to dire repercussions sooner or later.
Over the past few months, we have witnessed ministers and institutional officers stating whatever they think benefits their political clientele, even though their decisions come into direct conflict with the interests of Greece. Some metaphorically threatened our creditors that we would export jihadists all over Europe, others said they believed that it was compatible to not pay our creditors (or one or two installments), and others are busying themselves with a mechanism on how to not pay the burdensome debt.
If it was that simple... Then wouldn't have this already have happened? Is this the image that Greece really wants to give the world?
It is our opinion here at HellasFrappe that some ministers in this government have not yet understood that they are not in the opposition anymore (where they stated whatever they wanted without consequence). The confusion does not only exist in their public appearance but also in the government’s negotiation tactics and it’s day-to-day management tactics, which is also raising a few eyebrows as well. For instance, we find it totally absurd for a Minister to state in the morning that he is 400 million euros short to pay wages and pensions, only to listen to a statement by the same minister two hours later claiming that he retracted his statement and the money was found. Is this just mere naivety and inexperience? It could probably be, but it is also very destabilising and we hope they understand that the Greek people cannot bear anymore wise and cheap talk. If you are going to make an official statement, make sure that all your facts are straight from the beginning!
DOMESTIC FRONT
On the domestic front, anarchists freely vandalize the walls outside parliament, invade the Polytechnic and spread chaos in the area of Exarchia. Everywhere these hooligans go they threaten and burn public property without ever taking into consideration that these damages will be later paid by the majority of Greek taxpayers. Leftists feel so overwhelmed by their beliefs, that they feel that they have to destroy buildings, concrete, marble statues, set fire to private property, etc to get their point across. Excuse us... But what ever happened to COMMUNICATION?
Luckily for us we live in an era that freely allows us to communicate to anyone and everyone in numerous ways. Why do they feel that they need to destroy public property to do so?
Then there is the issue of our police forces. Their powers have been limited since SYRIZA came to power and from what we know are now forced to observe from a distance, and only act on orders (as with most officers,) but we all know these orders never come. Neither Greece’s major problems, nor the social problems that emerge on a daily basis can wait for the new SYRIZA-ANEL government to mature and assume its responsibilities.
EDUCATION
Ah yes education. Once more this institution is falling prey to political and partisan expediencies. Before the latest law for the universities could be tested out in practice, SYRIZA's new Minister of Education decided to knock it down, and totally change the university entry system. Without dialogue, basic coordination or debate, he devised a new set of reforms that does not seek solutions and improvements, but a return to the past.
In simple terms, University Councils are being abolished, students will vote for Rectors, the academic asylum is changing again and the “eternal students” are once again making their comeback. Three decades or so after unionism was introduced in higher education, which established a state of populism and transaction that belittles the operation of the universities, this country is literally returning to the same model all thanks to a (Stalinistic) stance on modern education.
Instead of finding ways to improve our education system by closely examining how top institutions operate abroad, we are quite laughably returning to an old world of operation which we here at HellasFrappe feel undermines the education process itself. We are not alone, aside from the students who object to this, and their parents, tens of hundreds of academics from all over Greece and abroad have already requested for the Councils and new management to not be abolished, until their operation can be assessed but SYRIZA's Education Minister ignored all this and decided to adopt the opinions of a section of the union bodies of students and administrative staff.
At a time when everyone knows - and given the situation the country is in - that the greatest investment Greece can make is in its production capacity, knowledge and education, this new government is overturning any attempt to rationalize education. It is ignoring THREE DECADES of experience in the operation and management of universities and restoring a problematic model, in order to serve political consideration.
And we ask: Is this the way to move forward?
CONCLUSION
Frappers, these were just some of our concerns. There are so many more that deal with foreign relations and geopolitical issues but we are going to produce a separate report on that over the next few days.
All we want is for this cheap rhetoric to end. With Greece literally on the brink of total destruction, Tsipras who we feel can make a great leader needs to ignore the buffoons in his party, put some order to their endless parade of statements and bring back some stability to this country.
Did he or did he not promise us the Greek people a better and more efficient government? If yes then he has to first end this war of statements and impressions – which we all know are primarily intended for domestic consumption – . Greece's salvation is paramount. There is no more time for delays and sensationalism. Decisions have to be made that will balance the general interest of the country and the people.
We had warned everyone about this before the elections. As it would seem, the Greek people had to experience SYRIZA’s reality in order to understand the gravity and complexity of Greece’s financial and political problems. It is time for logic understanding and low tones to prevail.
There cannot be a more recession-causing policy for the Greek economy than extending today’s uncertainty… Everything else is about fairy tales for gullible fans, who will be fewer and far between as time goes on. To overturn the situation the SYRIZA-ANEL government must finally assume its responsibilities towards the country and the people. There is no other way.
Signed
HellasFrappe
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