Greeks ain't got it...

I.e.
1) they don't get it
2) their reps ain't got the credentials to do the job.

Let's start with 2 first:
Greece Inc is being kept alive through transfusions and the blood is running out. 35 years ago, when Chrysler was down the drain, a savvy CEO saved the day. Examples of turnarounds abound, I just thought of that one randomly.
Greece is down the drain and what do the well intentioned (no doubt) newly elected Greeks do?
They send a near-defunct president and a few nobodies with no human interaction skills, even less work experience, and "no-plans-yet", to negotiate change in the reform memorandum.

The "I have no clue" team will meet with Brussels officials to negotiate.

Now, how cool is that?
Whaddya think they will talk about?
Methinks the discussion will go something like: "you know, we have already put (a) heavy burden(s) and we face social unrest"
"But you haven't implemented anything -- you only raised taxes! Of course, I can't tell you how to do what you want to do... What do you propose instead?"
"We would like an extension."
"But how will the extension make things better? What will you gain from the extension? What can you do later that you cannot do earlier?"
"These things take time"
"When will you reduce public spending?"
"We have already..."
"No, no, now you are simply NOT paying suppliers and debts, and there is a backlog of billions to be spent in the future. We mean, when will you slash the public sector"
"It is difficult..."
(Mental response)"For goodness sake, we're wasting our time here".

The guys just can't do the job.
They don't have the skills-set, nor the competencies for the job.

The people Greeks vote into their Parliament are clueless when it comes to actually doing something concrete; like boiling an egg, for example.

1) They don't get it.

The country is in deep trouble and has been kept alive by other peoples' borrowed money. This may not last.

Other peoples' money has been poured into Greece, bit by bit. Until now, all Greek politicians did was to keep creditors happy so that the money batches came in. I.e. promise anything, throw in a few austerity killers for good measure (as in, never give VAT returns, but bring forward by one month all VAT payments TO the state regardless of whether the invoice has been paid; impose additional income tax for past years;) and pocket the latest batch, pay the payroll and survive until the next go.

Once the money hit the State coffers, Greek politicians return to their internal squabbling for a while -- until the money runs out again.
No structural change -- let alone reform -- has taken place in the near-three years since Greece went on the bailout bandwagon.

Greeks don't get it: they have to get rid of these people.

When people default they risk losing their house.
Greeks risk losing their land.
They just don't get it.

Greeks' erratic voting, explained

Greece voted on Sunday 17th June (for yet another time this year) and the results(1) are revealing: majority to the conservative New Democracy led by a well-inspitalstentioned cretin, A. Samaras and runner up pseudo left-wing Syriza, led by con man wise-guy A. Tsipras. Syriza represents the politico-administrative mob in Greece.

The amazing result of 1 out of 4 Greeks voting for the mob is not as amazing as it seems at first.
This is what is happening:

1.  the Greek mob's previous party cover was PASOK; as this party dwindled and with it, the support it gave to its hard-core patrons, originally known as the "Green Guards" (MPs, union leaders, activists, civil servants, purchasing departments in hospitals, etc). So, a chunk of its supporters moved lock stock & barrel to a new, revamped party called Syriza. The idea is good: you reposition yourself more to the left, the left being nostalgic chic in Greece, and the PASOK left colours having eroded completely. 
2. Syriza already grouped all the starved "euro" left-wingers who, having bombed in all elections since WW-2 never had the chance to place a permanent hand in the till -- till now.

• Thus moving, the PASOK "wise guys" join forces with Greece's wannabe wise guys and create the 2nd largest party -- the PASOK of the future.
• So, Syriza is the party of the Greek "now is my turn to make my killing" mob.

 What is amazing is that 1 out of 4 Greeks believe that there is still time to make a quick kill -- even with the EU commission, the IMF & ECB breathing down their necks.

We must keep in mind that the runner up's pre-election slogans included, increasing the public sector payroll by recruiting another 100,000 civil servants, increase the salaries in the Public Sector (recently salaries in the public sector were cut -- as were pensions, unfortunately). He also vowed to tax business turn-over, to use individuals' bank deposits to finance all these changes and to change the course of the future for the European Union and the world at large...

					The party has no concrete plans or strategy or tactics to offer, however!
		In the face of such bullshit do the Syriza voters know something all the others do not?
		(1)Nea Democratia 29,66%,Syriza 26,89%, Pasok 12,28%, Independent Greeks (conservative) 7,51%, Chryssi Avgi (far right wing) 6,92%, Dimar (moderate left wing) 6,26%, KKE (communist party) 4,50%.

Greece's erratic political behaviour... explained

After many years of raw thinking, and dissatisfied with the explanations proffered this far, I finally caught on!
The answer to the question "why do Greeks vote so erratically, in other words, why are they politically akin to an adolescent looking for his or her role in life?" is,

Greeks suffer from the fact that they have no knowledge, no experience, and no clue of what a real country is like and how a real country functions.... 

I.e. the vast majority of Greeks never lived in your average, run-of-the mill, normal country, where a modicum of legality, morality, and adhesion to the common good are observed and sanctioned.
Also, where politicians & media do not push the bullshit to exponential factors.
Greeks do not know what it is like to live & work in a normal country, for any length of time -- nor have they been educated in any way to think accordingly.
Those that have lived elsewhere, are too few (and too disgusted) to make much of any difference.


For many years, many people within the EU and some people outside the EU are bewildered at the Greeks' voting again and again for the same self-serving and scandal-ridden politicians, at shouldering huge taxes to support their huge and inefficient contingent of party-driven civil servants. Lately, Greece's successive socialist governments have increased income tax, slashed medical care, cut pensions, and pledged the country's real-estate and other goodies to receive a massive EU bail-out to support, once again, Greece's huge and inefficient contingent of party-driven civil servants  and socialist party cronies.

Difficult to understand indeed, and many explanations have been offered but none that could adequately explain -- apart from sheer idiocy, which would be a statistical aberration.

SO, here it is, ladies & gentlemen:
Q - Why do Greeks sometimes act as overgrown, disgruntled, adolescents???
A - Because they haven't seen better, they don't know nor have they ever been taught any better!

A tighter Euro-union, especially one where decisions are made by persons other than Greece's political leaders and inspired by Greece's administration, could be the best thing that can happen to Greece this side of the end of WW-2.

Greece is in the wake of new elections. This, in and of itself, would not be very troublesome -- bar the cost of elections that Greece can hardly afford.
The problem is that Greek voters seem to persist in their preference for the partisan, "we will show 'em" type, of party.
The dregs of popularity of Pasok, Greece's dying socialist party, were picked up by another party named "Syriza" that is, in many aspects, a re-launch of Pasok, with a refurbished "left-wing" architecture; Pasok had lost the lustre of the left in recent years and the brand has eroded -- hence the re-branding and repositioning.

Fortunately for Greeks, 70-80% of the vote is NOT in favour but coalitions may serve where voters do not!

In matters political, Greeks are fatally attracted to things left of centre. The left syndrome does not affect Greeks' predilection for expensive cars, designer clothes, condos and sundry, but it manifests itself in their elections. You do not have to be a staunch leftist to attract, in Greece it is enough to brand yourself left... SO, the "left" parties bunched together do gather a sizeable chunk of the vote.


Scandal after scandal, in the 30 years after Greece joined the EU, the Greek "political-administrative" complex has plundered billions of euro, if one is to believe the reports, the court-cases, the media allegations and what seems to be a plethora of evidence. Yet Greece's politicians are still vowing for a seat in parliament promising to "turn over a new leaf". Presumably, the idea is that having made their stash Greek politicians vow to keep their hands away from the till. For now.



So, since the powers that be are not interested in the welfare of their country and the Greek electorate is confused, hoodwinked or, for whatever the ailment, unable to take charge,there are three ways of saving the country:
a) change the rules of government
b) keep the rules and appoint a foreigner to do the job.
c) hope for a miracle.

All Greeks should opt for c anyway.

The rest is up to them, unless the EU saves the day. Again.