The image on the left portrays the Ancient Greece -- more to the point, many Greeks' dream Greece.Greece today, falls short of anyone's dreams.
On Nov 3rd 2011 in a speech of, as yet unprecedented, political trickery, lies, hypocrisy, and shameless propagandist mantra, Greece's Prime Minister informed the assembly that he (and his party) have succeeded in gaining Europartners' trust, in saving the country from defaulting, in reversing the dire situation the country used to be in -- which situation was not his/ their fault.
When asked to step down, his unequivocal answer was, "Nah-nah-nah nah-nah, I ain't goin' nowhere".
Greeks are in a difficult situation: they have elected to power a person & a party who campaigned upon false pretences. But that's not the big problem.
The real problem is, the Greek government came to power normally -- through elections. So, Greeks can not claim that they are suffering under the yolk of a junta -- and expect immediate support.
Yet, a junta is exactly what the present (3rd quarter 2011) Greek Socialist government is.
The Greek government has gradually centralised power to a degree that in 3rd world countries would be termed at least authoritarian (legislated impunity for politicians; rampant nepotism, total disregard for popular dissent, blatant disregard for institutions - legal requirements - fiscal requirements - even paying their to enter a museum, soviet-type propaganda...).
Greeks have seen themselves made a fool of, ridiculed globally, and ostracised by the global community.
In the G20 meeting, the Euro leaders called the Greek PM's bluffs and cornered the situation. A further crisis ensued back as Greeks realised that their Prime Minister had lied outright -- to both the Europartners and the voters...
And yet, the good fellas in government are not ready to let go. For that matter, nor did the mob let go until forced to do so.
BUT, a few big buts,
* The mob was the mob and everyone knew they were the bad guys. Even they knew it. Anyone will run to help you if you are a victim here.
* The junta -- any junta -- is a junta and everyone accepts they are bad guys by Western democracy standards. You don't have to explain it. Countries have repeatedly shown their solidarity to the victims of oppressive regimes.
* Soviet type or Stalinist regimes were totalitarian, and everyone recognised the plight of the people living under such regimes. That's where the word "dissident" got star-billing for while.
But in Greece, the present junta is NOT self-evident. No one can recognise the present Greek political regime for what it is outside the country itself -- indeed, many cannot do so within the country itself if they live far from information providing centres. So the people are accountable for what their (legally recognised) government has done & is doing.
Greeks pushed their tolerance for their incompetent & immoral politicians too far.
The Greeks' political tolerance backfired.
They can't even expect sympathy from their allies.
