While we usually think of a butterfly's wings flapping as the cause of chaotic tornadoes around the world, in the case of Greece, it appears Samaras' comments that he "won't tolerate the sacred cows of Statism," after his closure of the nation's TV broadcaster ERT [3] has sparked much more widespread angst than many could have known. Amid the coalition, the 'opposition' leader Tsipras has called for a "no-confidence" vote amid the "institutional coup." A fascinating development given that the Greeks quietly folded when they took away their pensions - but remove the TV and revolution is around the corner.
- *KOUVELIS SAYS UNACCEPTABLE FOR ERT TO BE SHUT DOWN
- *VENIZELOS SAYS ERT ISSUES SPARKED INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEM
- *SAMARAS SAYS WE'RE SEEING FINAL SPASMS OF OLD SYSTEM
And the tension is rising since Samaras is adamant that "there is political will to change," and the ERT decision is a "symbol that wastage has ended." This is not going away.
Via The Guardian [4],
Greece's fragile coalition government is in disarray after the prime minister tipped the country into an unexpected crisis following a decision to shut down the state broadcaster with immediate effect to meet bailout austerity measures.
The draconian move on Tuesday night, designed to prove that the government was serious about tackling the bloated public sector, has left the Greek public in shock, leaving 2,700 unemployed and prompting two general strikes planned for Thursday.
Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras met the Greek president Karolos Papoulias on Wednesday afternoon condemning the move as an "institutional coup". "Many times the word 'coup' is used as an exaggeration," he said. "In this case, it is not an exaggeration."
...
even the East Germans weren't as abrupt when the cold war ended and kept their own service on air as part of the transition to reunification of the country.
...
However part of the bailout programme, the government agreed with the troika to pass legislation by mid-August to make cuts in "non-essential public entities" including "asset management companies; construction companies; and public television stations".
Deltenre said: "In every country where the troika have turned up, the public service broadcasters have been put under enormous pressure ... they push governments to something and the result is wrong," she said.