papandreou

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A roundup of news in the wake of the Socialists’ return to power in Greece:

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios congratulated George Papandreou on his election victory in Greece. The Archbishop wished him success in his “manifold work for the benefit of the homeland and the Greeks abroad.”

Sworn in

“Diplomats,” dismayed at rising xenophobia and nationalism, cheered Papandreou’s victory:

A self-described “diaspora Greek” who was born in the US, Papandreou is conspicuously cosmopolitan. As president of Socialist International, the world grouping of leftwing parties, he has campaigned for minority rights and the decriminalisation of drugs … “Our biggest challenge is to regain the confidence of the Greek people who have lost their faith in politics and in what Greece can do,” he told the Observer. “One of the reasons this government failed was because it had no credibility after the amazing corruption we have seen in the last year. I am a socialist, but I am very non-dogmatic.”

But he is ambitious …

Papandreou has also pledged to move against the high salaries paid to executives, to tax major property holdings, including properties held by the Orthodox Church of Greece, to tax offshore companies and large inheritances; and to abolish numerous state agencies and entities to reduce public spending

Papandreou wants to dip into the “diaspora” talent pool to fix his country: Continue reading →

What a beautiful country and what a heartbreaking spectacle of anarchy and self-hatred. A friend forwarded me this note that he received from a relative in Athens. The matter-of-fact closing line is revealing. Athenians have been coping with this malaise for a long, long time:

Every person you ask will have his own take on the riots/events in Greece/Athens, mine is the following:

What Greece faces is a situation were you no longer have a society. You have people who happen to be at the same place and everyone is going for his own with no regard to anything. The “System” is considered unfair & ineffective by almost all.

This attitude comes across in the quote: “work to eat and steal to have”

The situation is the result of the bureaucratic nature of the State, the statist ideology of the Country, and a System/attitude that does not reword work nor allows the most competitive bids to usually win.

Concerning specifics:

Karamanlis is not considered to be making money from graft; however, he is allowing corruption to take place and is not taking steps to change the system.

Foreigners are more involved in the looting because in general they are more active whenever it comes to making a buck.

Left-wingers are much more active in the riots because their ideology in Greece is more permissive to violence & stealing and they have an axe to grind with the “conservative” government.

Conservatives working in the private sector have been livid with this government for a while now for ridiculous delays in government payments (i.e state hospitals delay payments for three years), administrative decisions (ministerial permissions for investments to proceed, court decision etc.) and new taxation.

All the above help make the environment challenging.

Writing in England’s Guardian newspaper, Helena Smith asks, “How much tear gas can a nation take? How many stones can it collect?” Continue reading →

Greek Socialists Seeking ‘Diaspora’ Talent

‘Work to Eat, Steal to Have’