Intersting Editorial in the online version of ekathimerini today
Greece stands at a crucial crossroad: It can either put its affairs in order or go bankrupt and return to the drachma. A powerful alliance in favor of the latter has risen. It comprises old-style unions, state-supported businessmen with no desire for rationalization, bankrupt business owners who see this as a means of hiding their failures, anti-European powers of the left and the populist right, some media and, finally, hardcore PASOK politicians who are after maintaining power at all costs.
Standing opposite this alliance is a government with a leadership deficit and a panicked political body. Is the country going to be destroyed to satisfy the interests of PPC’s worker union and goldbugs waiting for it to fold? Will someone explain to the people that the drachma will lead to poverty and not to redemption for the average Greek? We cannot allow a combination of powerful interests and ineffectual leadership to lead us to a national disaster.
It has an interseting angle we hadn’t thought of re “bankrupt business owners”, “old style unions”, state supported businessmen wanting to return to the Drachma. An intersting point of view but I am not sure if it is correct.
For starters if Greece were to return to the Drachma it will have meant that Greece had defaulted. Ignoring the fact sweeping statements made by the author (who is incidentally not named). The Drachma may be the only solution for any business, including ekathimerini.
About old style unions, I do not see what they would have to gain, if Greek defaults thousands of their members will be unemployed because the government will simply not have the money to pay them. And the same goes for state supported businessmen, the government simply will not have the money to pay them.
About Gold-bugs wanting the failure. That may be true, they would probably be in a good position on the reintroduction of the Drachma but some might say they will be in good position not matter what.[youtube
About the Drachma leading to poverty for the average Greek. This is a sweeping statement and if the other points made by the author turn out to be true then he/she could well be correct.
The problem will not however be down to the Drachma or Greece or the Greek people. It will be down to the fact that the government, even though it’s people are living in poverty does nothing to address the problem of Greece’s competitiveness & trade deficit (the government deficit will/should be addresses by any default).
And ulitmately if Greek politicians are serious about dealing with the deficit they should do it while they have the support of Europe. If Greece can have balanced trade then money should not be an issue.
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