Just what planet are the Greeks on?

[youngmafbog]

With Merkel visiting Athens today means that 7000 old bill have been drafted in to cope with the expected protests.

Of course the lefty unions are off on one, I mean what better way to turn your country round than strike eh?

And why the protests? Without the Germans the Greeks economy would be lower than a dachshunds b***s just because the Germans wont fund their cushy lifestyle they protest !

If this is the 'REAL Greece' they say they want to show Merkel I suggest she cuts the rope and lets them float off. The Banks will soon be ready to handle it (Just need a World Bank Holiday to do it in - Xmas should do).

[rojash]

Most people reserve their drunken Friday night pub rants for Friday night in the pub.

[jackthehat]

Your compassion for the ordinary citizens of Greece who are the real victims of the fiscal mis-management by their government does you great credit.

[VHG]

>>>ordinary citizens of Greece

You means the ones who take great delight in being proud they dont pay any taxes?

Then complain when government services are cut.

"Figures compiled for The Sunday Telegraph by the world renowned expert Prof Friedrich Schneider of Linz University in Austria show that Greece's shadow economy – made up of the trade, goods and services, both legal and illegal where taxes are not paid – grew from 24.3pc of GDP in 2008 to 25.4pc in 2010"

[DTCwordfan]

they never have - the black economy is huge, and I have some lovely experience of unravelling their "contracts" on a major capital project which was so royally screwed up (and corrupt), that it was almost unbelievable, the project was over four years behind and they had even to pay for a ship for receiving gas when they couldn't berth it, a mere million a month for demurrage.

But then just look at any Greek house and you find building works outside, the iconic cement-mixer standing there, all in the name of avoiding property taxes.

[Brenden]

They probably see themselves as becoming part of the fourth Reich.

[Zeuhl]

The German economic forces have done a better job than their armed forces of WW2 in dominating the Greeks.

However, I'm not sure how their european domination model now reinforces itself.

They may have replaced most of the Greek donkeys and wells with cars and water treatment plants that the locals couldn't resist - but as they couldn't afford them either it's hard to see how it can be sustained as a consumer market for the export and banking giant that is germany.

[emmie]

actually i have some sympathy for the ordinary Greek, without the total mismanagement of the economy they wouldn't be in nearly such a parlous state. Mind you having 40 percent work in the public sector cannot help matters. Germany have done extremely well out of Greece by way of exports, so perhaps they are having a gripe because they think they have had to go cap in hand to the Germans, and they will not like that at all, some elderly Greeks have very long memories.

[DTCwordfan]

Agree em; if Brown and his tribe of economic vandals had continued on as they were doing, we could have ended up like them in this country. That final note, left on his desk, from Liam Byrne said it all.

[emmie]

so it did, but we are not remotely like Greece, some of us actually have or do pay our taxes. How one runs a country with no money coming in beats me, wait a minute of course no one is running it, or not remotely effectively.

[emmie]

if the young people in Greece really get motivated there will be bigger and bigger riots, and much loss of life. They do not stand idly by as it were while Rome, or in this case Athens burns, they will set fire to it themselves.

[boxtops]

Think Greece is now a remote controlled country with Germany holding the batteries for controller.

[emmie]

boxy, don't hold your breath. They won't keep on bowing at the knee. They say they want to remain in the EU, keep the Euro, but i honestly don't think they can. Their economy is largely built on tourism, in fact is very reliant on it, i am not discounting shipping, but the money isn't there, to pay people, some are up to the point of destitution. what workers expected, decent stable jobs, pensions, in the public sector are now falling to due to the austerity measures.

[argorstran]

You might want to read the open letter issued by Mikis Theodrakis the famous Greek composer ("Zorba the Greek") . He fought in the resistance in WW2 .
The letter is quite long and was issued in February . Link:
http://spithakentroat...s-open-letter-to.html

[Brenden]

Interesting letter argostran, seems like he has quite a following as I said earlier Greeks do not want to become part of the fourth Reich and I go along with them.

[emmie]

it is as i alluded to before, the older Greeks have long memories, they were very very harshly treated by the Germans, and the old ones won't forget that.

[emmie]

Brenden, as do I. But some are looking the other way whilst all this is going on.

[DTCwordfan]

It is as a Belgian friend of mine once said, his best friend being German and to the point that they swapped their holiday houses, one in Switzerland and the other Italy.

He had lost two uncles and an aunt in WW2, shot by the Germans....

"Even though I have close German friends, like most Belgians, I will buy their Mercedes and washing machines, however the love affair stops there. Because of what happened with my family, it will take at least another generation to wash this feeling out nationally as I have influenced my children and maybe, just maybe it will be my grandchildren that will be more accepting of them, what they stand for and their culture."

That attitude applies here too.

[emmie]

DT, off thread, are we friends again...

[emmie]

Many Greeks will never forgive the Germans for what they did. Similarly the British with the Japanese for their vile treatment in POW camps.