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Alexis Tsipras' Open Letter To Germany: What You Were Never Told About Greece
Authored by Alexis Tsipras via Syriza.net,
Most of you, dear [German] readers, will have formed a preconception of what this article is about before you actually read it. I am imploring you not to succumb to such preconceptions. Prejudice was never a good guide, especially during periods when an economic crisis reinforces stereotypes and breeds biggotry, nationalism, even violence.
In 2010, the Greek state ceased to be able to service its debt. Unfortunately, European officials decided to pretend that this problem could be overcome by means of the largest loan in history on condition of fiscal austerity that would, with mathematical precision, shrink the national income from which both new and old loans must be paid. An insolvency problem was thus dealt with as if it were a case of illiquidity.
In other words, Europe adopted the tactics of the least reputable bankers who refuse to acknowledge bad loans, preferring to grant new ones to the insolvent entity so as to pretend that the original loan is performing while extending the bankruptcy into the future. Nothing more than common sense was required to see that the application of the 'extend and pretend' tactic would lead my country to a tragic state. That instead of Greece's stabilization, Europe was creating the circumstances for a self-reinforcing crisis that undermines the foundations of Europe itself.
My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money but because you gave us much, much more than you should have and our government accepted far, far more than it had a right to. Money that would, in any case, neither help the people of Greece (as it was being thrown into the black hole of an unsustainable debt) nor prevent the ballooning of Greek government debt, at great expense to the Greek and German taxpayer.
Indeed, even before a full year had gone by, from 2011 onwards, our predictions were confirmed. The combination of gigantic new loans and stringent government spending cuts that depressed incomes not only failed to rein the debt in but, also, punished the weakest of citizens turning people who had hitherto been living a measured, modest life into paupers and beggars, denying them above all else their dignity. The collapse of incomes pushed thousands of firms into bankruptcy boosting the oligopolistic power of surviving large firms. Thus, prices have been falling but more slowly than wages and salaries, pushing down overall demand for goods and services and crushing nominal incomes while debts continue their inexorable rise. In this setting, the deficit of hope accelerated uncontrollably and, before we knew it, the 'serpent's egg' hatched – the result being neo-Nazis patrolling our neighbourhoods, spreading their message of hatred.
Despite the evident failure of the 'extend and pretend' logic, it is still being implemented to this day. The second Greek 'bailout', enacted in the Spring of 2012, added another huge loan on the weakened shoulders of the Greek taxpayers, "haircut" our social security funds, and financed a ruthless new cleptocracy.
Respected commentators have been referring of recent to Greece's stabilization, even of signs of growth. Alas, 'Greek-covery' is but a mirage which we must put to rest as soon as possible. The recent modest rise of real GDP, to the tune of 0.7%, signals not the end of recession (as has been proclaimed) but, rather, its continuation. Think about it: The same official sources report, for the same quarter, an inflation rate of -1.80%, i.e. deflation. Which means that the 0.7% rise in real GDP was due to a negative growth rate of nominal GDP! In other words, all that happened is that prices declined faster than nominal national income. Not exactly a cause for proclaiming the end of six years of recession!
Allow me to submit to you that this sorry attempt to recruit a new version of 'Greek statistics', in order to declare the ongoing Greek crisis over, is an insult to all Europeans who, at long last, deserve the truth about Greece and about Europe. So, let me be frank: Greece's debt is currently unsustainable and will never be serviced, especially while Greece is being subjected to continuous fiscal waterboarding. The insistence in these dead-end policies, and in the denial of simple arithmetic, costs the German taxpayer dearly while, at once, condemning to a proud European nation to permanent indignity. What is even worse: In this manner, before long the Germans turn against the Greeks, the Greeks against the Germans and, unsurprisingly, the European Ideal suffers catastrophic losses.
Germany, and in particular the hard-working German workers, have nothing to fear from a SYRIZA victory. The opposite holds. Our task is not to confront our partners. It is not to secure larger loans or, equivalently, the right to higher deficits. Our target is, rather, the country's stabilization, balanced budgets and, of course, the end of the grand squeeze of the weaker Greek taxpayers in the context of a loan agreement that is simply unenforceable. We are committed to end 'extend and pretend' logic not against German citizens but with a view to the mutual advantages for all Europeans.
Dear readers, I understand that, behind your 'demand' that our government fulfills all of its 'contractual obligations' hides the fear that, if you let us Greeks some breathing space, we shall return to our bad, old ways. I acknowledge this anxiety. However, let me say that it was not SYRIZA that incubated the cleptocracy which today pretends to strive for 'reforms', as long as these 'reforms' do not affect their ill-gotten privileges. We are ready and willing to introduce major reforms for which we are now seeking a mandate to implement from the Greek electorate, naturally in collaboration with our European partners.
Our task is to bring about a European New Deal within which our people can breathe, create and live in dignity.
A great opportunity for Europe is about to be born in Greece. An opportunity Europe can ill afford to miss.
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Lotta words to just say...... Fuck you.
My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money but because you gave us much, much more than you should have
:) No problem. Give the money back.
I would agree IF and ONLY IF:
1. ALL the politicians and bureaucrats who committed fraud in getting Greece into the Euro, and who took the loaned money and spent it, thereby committing theft and embezzlement, are SWIFTLY hung, AND ALL accounts & assets held by anyone who received the stolen loot are confiscated to repay the loans.
2. ALL legislation in Greece that is socialist is IMMEDIATELY FULLY repealed, eg absurdly early retirement with absurdly high pensions, labor union laws that are just legal protections for extortion by labor, HUGELY bloated government employee numbers, ALL regulations that stifle creation and operation of small businesses (they are ASTRONOMICAL in Greece), etc, etc
Otherwise, Greece must not be ALLOWED to leave the Euro, instead Greese MUST be expelled for fraud, embezzlement, theft and corruption.
Good points. The socialist's response to cure the ills of socialism however is to double down and create more socialism and if that fails, bring on full blown communism.
Sorta like the banksters trying to solve a debt problem with the creation of more debt.
"The socialist's response to cure the ills of socialism however is to double down and create more socialism" This is idiotic. If I understanding your brilliant analysis then, QE is a socialist program then too? Wow you people need an education in socialism/communism. Formerly intelligent Americans babble on about socialism/communism with as much clarity and relevance as they do about Muslims/Islam.
"If I understanding your brilliant analysis then, QE is a socialist program then too?"
QE is corporatism. Corporatism is socialism is fascism and ultimately totalitarian: Ask Mussolini, he invented fascism in the modern era and was a lifelong socialist by his own mouth.
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html
http://pistolero.aracari.swift-mail.com/Misc/Mises-why-nazism-was-social...
http://pistolero.aracari.swift-mail.com/Misc/Mises-fascism-versus-capita...
http://pistolero.aracari.swift-mail.com/Misc/Mises-corporatism-vs-capita...
This is a letter pre-election (Jan.13th, as another commenter pointed out) to try and avoid open German/EU intervention in the Greek elections (campaign monies to the opposition, political arm-twisting and calling in favors on votes, whatever). We recently had an election in the USA, and if you read what most of the politicians said vs. what they're now doing you'll get a feeling for what politicians do best (hint: lie!). It says nothing about where Greece is going (aside from they are campaigning on not paying the current loans). It ignores the fact that Greeks made the decisions to get themselves where they are (at least Greek oligarchs and cleptocrats made the decisions for Greece), and it does not say anything on how Greece is going to avoid going back to the same exact place in the future.
If Greece follows Iceland's path, then they will screen the existing loans to segregate out those that are legitimate and belong to the Greek people from those that don't. They'll likely find that most of the debt doesn't belong to the Greek people, and that those holding the debt can go to the originators for payment. Somehow I don't think this will happen.
Excellent letter, accurate and honest. Will it work? No!! For one Greece is the thin edge of the wedge and the rest of bailout club would want the same. Second the banksters won't stand for it.
Friendly letter but the Germans and others are so brainwashed that it won't do any good. Even if he had said the truth that the bailouts were really to bailout German (and French and others) banks that made bad investments while they knew that Greece was a basket case, then they would still shout "yes, but these are our banks". As if the German bank would really care about Germans.
No, but Germans and French very much care about German and French pension plans which are massively involved in the banks and vv.
Any bank defaults would cause a ripple effect and cause massive headaches in the pension funding which is why the German and French taxpayers are on the hook either way.
Same as in the US.
You still expect to retire? Oh dear...Only babyboomers will retire comfortable. They made sure they would. The rest that comes after them will need to pay their retirement until they are dead (the payers that is, not the babyboomers cause they will then outlive the rest of us). But babyboomers of course will grow old and feeble. That is when the rest of us will hit them and confiscate what they have.
Careless lenders and careless borrowers have had their dance. The partys over so whats next? Is it to be the eternal slavery of the borrowers and their offspring to the lenders or is it to be a haircut for the lenders and a reset at lower levels of existence for the borrowers? Most of us here better decide because our turn is coming up next.
When a governent power forces you to "contribute" your money to an "approved" pension "plan" its best you get used to the idea that that ain't your money anymore, it' been earmarked for theft and waste.
Won't be the first time a junkie blamed the dealer.
At least he didn't call the Germans "Schnitzel face" like Mr Panos.
I'm mildly annoyed a native Greek speaker writes better in English than I do.
HE DIDN'T His speach writer did it for him.
He could not utter a word 18 months ago, admittedly he improved, but not this good,
what the heck happened to this place?
What I see as the main problem. Lets say debt is forgiven (to whatever major extend) and Tsipras will everything in in power to push through his plans. And even assume they'll fully work (for Greece at least), people will in a few years probably not going to like it too much and vote them out again. Then what? Debt forgiven and back to the old situation? Same goes for the US or any other country with big debt: major reforms needed, will hurt everybody, old life styles gone, people unhappy, back to the old 'spend,spend,spend' Lefty parties.
Seeing this in UK, ES, NL and FR already (to a much lesser extend of course).
If this is the case, which road do you choose now? best for your own country or best for Greece? Can't get it both ways (at this point, I think).
We are committed to end 'extend and pretend' logic
can we have another bridge loan now?
Oh yeah ! It's going to be a default and a complete Killing of the Euro! Finally!! GO Tsipras !! Go Tsipras !!!
End the EU for good .... the sooner the better!
Lets all end for good this complete Globalist Stupidity !
Lets get back to What WORKS ... Independent Countries!
End the EU for good!
Thank you, ZeroHedge, for posting this letter which Mish is now featuring.
He talks the talk. Will he have the balls to walk the walk ? We'll fine out very soon.
Question - is he meaning the government spending cuts lead to collapse of incomes?
Look at all the lemmings here giving praise to the socialist. His whole letter is essentially bitching about "predatory lending"; just default already, we get it, your country is a bankrupt welfare state. How does anybody think that what this idiot promises is good. Greece is broke due to too much government spending, and this idiot wants the government to control every aspect of peoples' lives, and you assholes cheer him? This website has truly gone to shit. Bunch of pandering losers who idoloize parasite that hates the ability of indiviuals to be free and make decisions. And you people have the nerve to bitch about a "banker", like you know what the fuck it is. Hacks.
yep. brings to mind a song "Cryin like a Bitch"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eXIOK2vOhM
have to check URL sometimes to be sure didn't wander in to Huffpo or something
I know what a bankster is - a scum sucking vampire with FAR too much power. Time to purge this Planet of such bloodsucking fleas - the pestilence of humanity. You think we are "free" and can make our own decisions? You are corrupt or inherently ignorant and dishonest.
Iceland, greece -Hopefully the US will come around soon -
Watch the door on the way out.
Lots of Greek socialists posting here today.
I love how everyone here hates socialism, but they don't even know what it is. "Welfare state" is neither socialism nor communism, it is the liberal band-aid to a "we're gonna get revolted on by some people" situation. What this guy is talking about - questioning the predatory lending, expressing a failure of EU/ECB policy - is not socialism. it's common sense. Go to Greece - these people were never living with even half of what the idle urban masses (of many more millions) which populate the US cities - and that isn't communist Obama or whatever nonsense you also have been led to paint "liberalism" in America with. As a libertarian, I'm sick of hearing people who have come to a more libertarian position, but skipped out on learning about the actual details of other political philosophies, dragging in their formerly Republican ideas when they enter the non-right/non-left realm of true liberty. You have to let it go - this is a country that was free to try out a new approach. There is realy no need to continue with the rote anti-communist stuff. Greece is trying a solution to the mess of the USA/EU and Central Banks - why you would need to focus on a word you think is relevant, when you don't even have any analysis other than "socialist means people dont have the right to be free and make decisions" is beyond me. That's just stupid dude - the fight to overthrow the bankers isn't a right v. left fight. Greece's "communists" aren't funded by JPMorgan. This country is stepping out of the norm and you would think free thinking people might be smart enough to examine policies and positions on their own terms, instead of revealing their shallow ex-republicanism (or perhaps current Republicanism?) ensconced in their 1980s era red-baiting bullshit.
This survivor of the Soclialist Paradise begs to differ. And please stop pretending to be a libertarian. You are not. (not because I said so, but because of what you said)
Socialism - because THIS time things will be different....
Scandinavia.
Sing with me: This time it will be different...
http://nypost.com/2015/01/11/sorry-liberals-scandinavian-countries-arent...
How a socialist can bring up arithmetics is beyond me...
What Tsipras says makes a lot of sense and is logical. The Eurocrats in Brussels do not understand capitalism as they are socialist and for them there is only one way forward, more government and taxes. They do not understand the concept of reorganization and renewal of enterprises in a capitalistic society. yes, loans go bad but it is not the end of the world. It is rather odd that a so called Greek socialist is giving capitalistic lessons to the EU...
Poorly written in English.
In German, ?
there's a shitticane coming!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4iDurCE3Yk
Tsipras and Varoufakis seem like a breath of fresh air. Lets see how they stand up when they meet the establishment.
Politicians are nothing but opportunist commentators. We'll see if the average greek does any better with these folks...We'll fucking see....
...boy you've got a bad stutter
Fucking Hilarious....
Politicians are nothing but opportunist commentators. We'll see if the average greek does any better with these folks...We'll fucking see....
Politicians are nothing but opportunist commentators. We'll see if the average greek does any better with these folks...We'll fucking see....
Politicians are nothing but opportunist commentators. We'll see if the average greek does any better with these folks...We'll fucking see....
If they wouldnt have told us upfront I would have sworn that letter was written by a community organizer. Lots of common sense, verbage about previous leaders getting Greece into this predicament, and appealing to the masses feelings but reality is like in the USA--future generations and administrations have to work on the mistakes of the prior ones and boy do I feel sorry for the next president. Should be a wake up call on the responsibility of intelligent voting.
Like Venezuela, I can't really give a flying Fuck what happens to the corrupt sniveling-whiners of Greece. Who have over the decades taken in less than they spend by large margins, so they take out several billions in loans to cover their mistakes. Now they blame the IMF/ECB for making them live within their means. So now Greece wants back to the table to reduce once again their loans or walk them all away together......
Just Like this Fucdup place the USA.
YES Greece will revert back to its old days of socialism. Probably already forming a.Greek commando unit to take over the toilet tissue factory ala Venezuela. You bad Euro people - giving too much money to Greece.
Pol Pot burned the money and the bankers. Kmer Rouge - the Red (socialist) Kmer. Fixed it. No more bankers to yell at.
What Tsipras says makes a lot of sense and is logical. The Eurocrats in Brussels do not understand capitalism as they are socialist and for them there is only one way forward, more government and taxes. They do not understand the concept of reorganization and renewal of enterprises in a capitalistic society. yes, loans go bad but it is not the end of the world. It is rather odd that a so called Greek socialist is giving capitalistic lessons to the EU...
good for him !! sounds like a man talking. someone who knows and is not afraid to speak the truth. honesty god what a breath of fresh air amidst the cess pool of lies the world lives in. wasnt that diogenes a greek who carried the lantern looking for someone who spoke the truth. well he may have just found him .
Funny how he ends with mentioning #eurowasteland needs a "new deal". I guess there are few out there that realize FDR's New Deal was about saving Capitalism, not about saving the suckers. So what's Greece gonna save? It's... behavior? The Greeks are suckers like everybody else--they obviously are clueless to that fact.
More here: http://worstwriter.com/2015/01/29/side-of-the-trade/
It's a very good letter. Who knows if he can do anything positive moving forward. Greece has a population of around 11M and a GDP of $250B. They have very high unemployment and there's not much that anyone can do change that. Any new factories would use robots and now even farming is not very labor intensive. That leaves only tourism and the food industry which for now use a lot of people. But just like every other country in the world with too many people (and that's just about all of them), there's trouble ahead.
The US has tried to hide its massive unemployment problems by increasing government workers and people on disability, increasing the prison and military poulations and of course by flat out manipulating the unemployment figures but in reality the only way forward is to have a shrinking population and a high percentage of educated and resourceful people. It's nice to have a utopian view that people can all just live a life of leisure but how would that be funded?
Indeed, the world is both consuming too much, it also takes a fraction of the man power it used to take to produce goods.
If planified obsolescence were thrown out of the windows thanks to market dynamics that would acknowledge the various hidden costs of such a missleaded practice even robots would get unemployed fast... Luckily they don't complain much.
It gets worse, imo there is a second revolution coming, it is going to hit while we have hardly assimilated the changes the industrial revolutions triggered in our mostly rural civilisations /societal structures.
The next step is the extremely fast advancement made in AI, within decades it should present a serious threat to the tertiary sector.
That is a major threat to our society where unemployement is already high.
THe future of mankind is gardening, a future mankind it seems doesn't want, are we to survive our contradictions? Tough bet...
The future is self employment owning robots.
The US does hide its massive unemployment problems, but hiring government workers is not how it's done. That's just pseudo-intellectual bullshit.
And be very careful of those highly educated resourceful people. They tend to want be compensated well.
I was thinking of new and totally useless, zero-value add organizations like the TSA/homeland security. Resourceful people will more likely start new companies.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/08/the-rise-of-bullshit-jobs.html
The thing about robots is that theres no monopoly on them.
Perhaps one ought to own robots rather than compete against them.
An amazing letter and written in virtually perfect English.
If I didn't know better, I'd say he's spent some time talking to the Mises Inst and reading Zerohedge etc. Nowadays, these are the only places to find reality. And the Germans are probably the only Europeans who would understand his sentiments.
If this letter truly represents Tsipras's view of dealing with the "Greek economic drama" then he has my full support. Just hold back on replacing current chaos with moar corrupt socialism. That would solve nothing.
Mises Inst? wat
I was referring to his analysis of the Greek debt situation etc. It has a very Austrian look to it.
Would Mises have said that cutting gov spending depresses income? Maybe I am missing something?
I wish I can write a honest letter like that. Brussel eurocrats, go and get stuff.
'...breeds biggotry, nationalism, even violence.'
The aristocrat poses as the anti-aristocrat. Europe is a socialist anti-nationalist dream, and the solution is nationalism. Syzbolloxia is yet another group of opportunist bolshevics making promises they cannot deliver. An honest party would deliver a manifesto that balanced its budget deficit so that it could default on its debts in an open way.
Nice letter, but what would Mr Tsiras do after a debt reduction? Hire another 100 000 civil servants to fight unemployment and make a few economy propping measure of the sort? to be back sunken in debt after a few years?
Yeah, that's what I read. He also fails to mention that the second bailout was more than a larger loan. It forced existing credtitors to accept extended maturities, lower interest rates and a haircut as I recall. All inconvenient facts.
Now that's a 21st Century Declaration of Independence!
overbearing predatory bankers and their policies are completely responsible for the fanatical governments that follow in response. Game on.
Bye, Bye Euro!
Incidently, FUCK YOU DRAGHI! You too Rothschild...
In the end, this has nothing to do with Greeks or Germans or anyone else living in Europe. "Greek Debt" is not the debt of Greeks. It's the debt the government of Greece took on. And just like the scare quotes on "contractual obligations" because they're not contractual obligations of Greeks, they're also not an issue of personal honor or dignity. If you're not responsible for entering into a contract, why should you be shamed if it defaults?
So the use of the communist dialectic of "dignity" is totally disingenuous. Dignity apparently is continuing to borrow money to pay welfare, no show government jobs, the 13th month of pay, and boondoggles to cronies (public-private partnerships).
Just do everyone a favor and default. Stop pretending it's anything other than that. Save us the sob story. You either pay or don't.
Tsipras tells it like it is with regard to the EU/IMF bailout in 2010/2011.
However there was a write down in Greek debt too since the bailout.
Shouldn't all letters be open letters?
I like how you've swapped out Handleblatt with German, implying that your readership are too stupid to work that one out! Probably right. Americans learn geography through tomahawks and drones.
The Greeks can weep all they want. But ultimately there is only one solution if they serious about getting out of the debt.
First, declare default.
Second Nationalise key assets that feed people, food, electricity and water.
Europe will not give any more new loans at any reasonable levels, so start getting out of Euro.
Printing own currency or even join other currencies. I think Russia is waiting.
It will be painful but I am sure Greeks will pull it off.
As for those, who made all those bad loans and pushed Greece into taking loans, well, more haircuts are coming. 100%
A few interesting glimpses into Mr. Tsipras and Syriaza.
- Mr. Tsipras started his aspiring political career early - in late 1980 he joined Communist Youth of Greece. While there he lobbied for the right of hs students to be absent without their parents knowing (wth?).
- during the university years joined left wing - "Enceladus"
Downhill from then on.
From Syriza progrma. Whole thing is here. Alexis/Syriza demand:
- Exclude public investment from the restrictions of the Stability and Growth Pact. (so he wants gov to spend, spend, spend. No Wonder Krugman loves him)
- Immediately increasing public investment by at least €4 billion. (did you hear him say SPEND yet?)
- Rebuilding the welfare state, restoring the rule of law and creating a meritocratic state.
- A «European New Deal» of public investment financed by the European Investment Bank. (oh baby, he wants to be FDR, never apparently heard that FDR created Great Depression?)
go to the link there is more nonsense like that.
So to summarize, Alexis is the Greek version of Bambi. Nurtured by Commies, wanting to be the FDR.
Honestly, what he *wrote* is succint, makes sense and sounds very reasonable. I guess I just point out what he didn't say in his letter, which is exctly what he wants and exactly how he's going to run "his" Greece. I think every country would love some debt forgiveness, which would help literally every country to provide more for 'the people'. Greece is not special in this in any way. They are only special in that they're further down the rabbit hole than most.
I like how he says what he says here, but I don't know what any reasonable plan would be that wouldn't amount to "We got a loan but we're not going to pay it back".
OK . . . so, the only thing 'missing' in the perverted central banking and monetary system of the west is the liberal provision of hallucinogens to everyman.
Mr. Tsirpas is telling us: "Prejudice was never a good guide, especially during periods when an economic crisis reinforces stereotypes and breeds biggotry, nationalism, even violence."
It' cynical to listen this words from an allegedly leftist dragging the Germans people into the focus of simple populism and joining in a coalision with right wing extremists. A politician who tries to polarize Europe against Germany, dividing the Eurozone into a "free beer for all" and "paying"-faction.
A man blackmailing Germany to solve Greek debt-problems by promoting generous haircuts and free money printing for the Mediterranean "waste-faction"
Is this the new Hellenic message in return for having prevented Greece from collapsing and probably - as consequence - the whole European finance system owing to an Greek attitude of waste, tax-evasion, breach of agreement, lack of responsibility and victim-blaming? Mr. Tsirpas - you are perfectly confirming and continuing this attitude in your "letter to the German people" - you better wouldn't have written it.
Citation: "Europe adopted the tactics of the least reputable bankers who refuse to acknowledge bad loans...."
...in some terms weI agree - but listening to your finance minister I suppose that there are other motives: "Whatever Germans say - finally they will alway pay" and adressed to the European taxpayers north of the Alpes:
'Europe didn't adopt the Greek tactics of the least reputable borrowers who refuse to acknowledge that they have to account for loans....'
Mr. Tsirpad: You want us Germans, Dutches, Austrians, Finns etc....to learn from this kind of Greek customs, sharing your mentality, usages and business practices? Risking Europes whole financial system and currency for a big credit party and greeking affiliates?
Citation Tsirpas: "My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money but because you gave us much, much more than you should have and our government accepted far, far more than it had a right to"
Sounds like first-graders logic but not like a leader of a EC-country bounded into international rules and laws. It's not about you personal opinion - it's about contracts firmed by your official elected successors in name of the Greek people.
Citation Mr. Tsirpas: "The second Greek 'bailout', enacted in the Spring of 2012, added another huge loan on the weakened shoulders of the Greek taxpayers (...) and financed a ruthless new cleptocracy."
Sorry Mr. Tsirpas : You are talking scornful about follow-up loans given to a bankrupt country below German interest level, funded by the ECB members to avoid the compleatly breakdown of your countries social wealth what means that other tax payers are already stepping into your responsibility to pay back the mess your successors ordered in name of the huge majority of Greek voters. Cheap loans substituting exploding costs for loans made by Greek politicians and other statistic fakers to fund campaign promises of a ruthless kleptocracy (....like Mr. Tsirpas...) feeding an absurd paradise of civil servants and early retired persons. Real loans at world record level financing a state of official elected (!) corrupt politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, fakelaki-authorities, centenarians-retirees, blind islanders, inefficency. Real loans given and confirmed by politicians who now repulse having adapted the rules of serious business. Mr. Tsirpas: There is no Swiss standard of life based on olives, feta cheese and tax-evasion. The consequences of this behaviour is to take responsibility - you call it 'a proud European nation being condemned to permanent indignity", blaming the German people for supporting you more than each other.
Tsiapris: "Greece's debt is currently unsustainable and will never be serviced".
I would like to revise your assertion: "Greece's standard of life is currently unsustainable and should not be serviced anymore by European countries like Germans, Slovacs, Dutch, Austrians respectively by the ECB. Apropos "fiscal waterboarding": The "hard-working German workers" expected to refinance your mess are feeling "fiscal waterboarded" by your immoderateness, self-indulgence, gluttony, cheekyness and nonchalance.
Tsirpas: "Our task is not to confront our partners (...) Our target is, rather, the country's stabilization, balanced budgets (...) Our task is to bring about a European New Deal within which our people can breathe, create and live in dignity...."
Mr. Tsirpas, if we take it in consideration your latest wealth-spending plans we suppose your task is to bring back your people "living far beyond their means" while others refinance your exorbitant debts. Apart of this your "European partners" can't count anymore how many Greek leaders treated them how many times with contempt trampling understandings and contracts under foot following the simple and obvious tactic: Get what you pay for or let the Germans pay for what you get. The Greek expectations to proceed former lifestyle "whatever it takes" is not really new for the world - but what about the dignity and breathe of "hard working German taxpayers" paying your mess?
Tell us: Why should Greeks get the privilege to deselect debts by a simple election-cross after having fooled their "European partners" for years - why should they get the privilege to blame German taxpayers when not permitting them to continue printing purchased permits out of thin air?
Last not least:
Mr. Tsirpas: Nowadays German leaders and most of German voters do not feel personally responsible for their grandfathers history and mistakes, most weren' t even born at this time. But nevertheless they took and take responsibility for it about 70 years.
Meanwhile first action you took after your election victory was remembering the Germans to take responsibility for their grandfathers history - obviously deducing the right to refuse redemption of credits: But what about collective responsibility of the Greek people in terms of their latest lifestyle-party (almost every Greek took profit of this party) organized by official elected successors just a couple of month ago? Successors voted by the same voters who voted this time for you, Mr. Tairpas - and tomorrow for the next storyteller? Obviously you just belied your own theory of "others people responsibility".
It's to simple to justify breaches of agreement about 240 billion Euro pointing with the finger to German history. Your argument is the "easy" way, the "short way", the "comfortable" way - something what the world knows as the "Greek way".
Don't blame German taxpayer for having taken the rap for your exorbitant waste. Don't polarize Europe against German people. If the teutonic taxpayers would have observed the "non-bailout-clause" in their own interest, if they wouldn't have carried the can in 2010 and 2012 for the Hellenic people, Greece and it's social systems would have collapsed. And you, Mr. Tsirpas, would have been the first one calling us "Nazis" either. Don't blame us for having prevented your tribe against "free financial markets" as consequence of your very own interpretation of contractual commitments.
Greek people voted the mess and Greek people should take responsibility for it. Something you are not used to, we know...