I am tired. In fact, I’m exhausted. And fed up. To hear the same things again and again. EU and IMF urged for one more time Greece for “Reforms” and “Austerity”. Reforms I do not see; Austerity is what I feel on my skin. Day in and day out. And the perspective is even more austerity, deeper salary cuts and rickety social state, paralyzed state mechanisms. The much praised and expected structural reforms ran into a ditch of a provincial road. Kicked aside by petty interests, powerful guilds and visionless politicians. Tied up with the for me invisible threads of clientelism cultures. A system that creates life-long and votes-bearing bonds.
What political parties “promise” ahead the upcoming elections goes inside my left ear and slips out from the right – right away.
In fact, I don’t even listen to them. I am old enough to have quite some elections campaign experience: The hundreds “I Will…”, the thousands “I Should…”
I already know which party I will vote for. And I just check occasionally, if this party does or proclaims something I totally disagree with. No party is perfect and I am a disillusioned voter.
I am pro-Europe. Because I grew up in a european country and was raised with European history and culture. Because I lived most of my life in several European countries. And because what’s the alternative? If this current Europe has mutated into a nightmare for its citizens, that’s another story and content of another post.
All These Candidates’ Calls
While the electoral campaign is in full swing, it looks as if I were a very attractive voter. Parties I disapprove and candidates I never met or declared I could be their supporters invite me to party meetings. They send me sms or even call me. No they themselves personally. Their staff. More often some hired call-centres to do the job. And they are puzzled. When my bone-neutral voice answers “aha… aha… aha…” or whispers “yes… yes…yes…” I guess, this reaction irritates them. Neither rejection nor approval. I suppose, they may think, they talk to a computer.
Should I get involved in an argument with them? Should I shout and tell them to go …bathing? I take the phone call and pretend to be in full control of myself. Show an non-challance that touches the edges of indifference.
A “computerised” voter. A disillusioned voter. Apparently indifferent. But deeply angry inside.
PS I should have gone walking today instead of going around trying to fix issues, spend endless hours and get frustrated again 🙁
Bravo! That was clear and although I can’t vote (just pay the taxes) I share the feeling.
Today we spend another morning at the TEBE to get rid of them. Business is closed for months now and running in another country. But you can not stop TEBE until you closed down your business. And that you can not do before the end of the month. You have to go and close at the 1st of the month. So January 1 became Februari 1. Oh yes, then you have to pay 2 more months of TEBE. So, in March we went back to make arrangements for the last payments and some arrears. There are measures you can use to pay that in installments. But we could apply for that yet. First we had to wait to 1 April, because we had to pay now until 31 March. Oh and we needed to take printouts from the bank payments (yes we are modern and pay a lot by internet banking!). Two payments of 520 plus euro later… Made a mistake with one of the payments. Typed 320 instead of 520, so I put another payment with the same codes for 200 euro. Nice to have those two payments returned because the TEBE software/system can not deal with 320 plus 200. Only with 520. So today we were able to get the print about the payment and went back to TEBE.
There we heard that the amount for my wife could not be payed in installments anymore because that rule stopped at 31 March. But we were told to come back in April because we could not get the spread payment because we were, theoretically still able to pay before the deadline of 1 April… And now, after 1 April, we were to late??? Yes! Nothing can be done, not their fault, it’s the system, please do not shout, they can’t help it.
Ok, then fix the payment for me. After 5 minutes: no you can not pay in installments because the amount is to small……… Nothing can be done, not their fault, it’s the system, please do not shout, they can’t help it. Please stop hitting me and why are you now pointing a gun at me????????
That last thing did not happen, of course, but I was so hopping mad that it could have happened.
Any question why deep and real reforms are needed before anything else???
And when I came home I read that the biggest parties in Parliament (PASOK, ND, LAOS, Syriza, KKE) had awarded themselves another 10 MILLION euro for this election. This is on top of the 29 million they awarded themselves earlier AND on top of the 8 million euro for research they also got. That is 49 bloody f****** million euro in a time of austerity they awarded to themselves. Oh, and they also confiscated a lot of airtime on private TV for campaign-commercials! Kleftes, all of them. Just shameless kleftes.
Like you, KTG, I should have gone for a walk instead. The weather was great. But we didn’t. Fools are we, utter fools?
Tomorrow I go to Monemvasia. Just soaking up it’s beauty and the wind and the smell of the sea. It will cost a lot of gas, but I don’t care. I need a brake. If only for one day.
Antonis, you do two grave mistakes: 1) you read news that anger you 2) you go faaar too early; you should have stayed for one more year to fix your issues.
But see the possitive side: lots of enforced fresh air to calm down anger and frustration.
BTW: of course the state softwares do not accept such installments which in fact are dirty tricks by tax/insurance payers aiming to boycott Greece efforts to pay back its loans.
KTG. Thank you for the good advise: I shall not read angering news anymore. Just happy thoughts. LOL
I won’t leave at all. I just travel, work and live away from Greece for 3 months twice a year. Thereby avoiding the hot summer and the wet winter months. Oh, and yes, thereby avoiding the Greek kleftes (politicians and bureaucrats) as much as possible and to regenerate the energy necessary to deal with them when I am home in Greece.
And you got me: I am a closet tax/insurance terrorist… 😆
very good choice not to leave permanently. if you need a servant in Holland, I’d be glad to help. I ned a break from them too lol
BRAVO ANTONIS ,another morning at the TEBE to get rid of them, OAEE NOW THIS INSURANCE IT HAS BEEN REPORTED BY SINIGOROS FOR ELEGAL ACTS HAVE A LOOK ON FACE BOOK AKTION AGREE WITH ALL OF U REPORT I WILL VOTE MY SELF HAVE PRINT MY PAPER AGANAKTISMENOS ME OLOUS SAS
Bill such vote is consideered as invalid and oesin favor of the first party
are there any other kind of voters in greece now? the only other kind i can think of are the ones who will vote the same party they always do just because its a habit and they never did anything different. i dont know how to categorise them
ctaegory: clients
ahhh KTG we can trust you to find the polite answer. i could only think of answers that cant be posted on your comments :). My problem is that ive been dissilusioned with them before i could even vote. i think i was about 15 when i realised what a bunch of “not nice people” they all are. tell you what when it came time to vote i was streuggling to find someone to vote for. i didnt want to vote white or null cos i felt that was relinquising my responsibility. so i ussually voted for someone i knew was fairly serious and not really tied to the usual political dungheap. but i felt that the hunt for someone to represent me was becoming harder and harder with each election. i used to blame myself that i was becoming picky or something. now i dont want either of the big 2 to wi. but at the same time none of the other parties have any plan or vision. even the big 2 dont have a plan, there plan is to follow the EU plan. they are basically the caretakers. what a mess. antoni good luck getting a divorce from greek beaurocracy. they will chase you forever.
thanks for the …trust 🙂
Vassilis, thanks for the good wishes. I do really need that luck. It feels like Hotel California when you try to get rid of the Greek bureaucracy here: “You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!” (And then Joe Walsh sets in his great guitar solo)
On the positive site: I check out from time to time but will never be able to leave Greece. 😉
the best option is to have many options – or at least too. Trust me!
I know we are not suffering to the same extent as the Greek people but meet a “disillusioned British Voter”.
We are held in the thrall of the bankers, speculators, profiteers and their incessant demands, as are our corrupt politicians.
I have no answer other than the ballot box and even then think that is a fruitless exercise because we are not ruled by the elected many but by the rich and greedy few.
Sorry to sound so negative but think the whole of the world is being held to ransom and time for the people of this world to say NO.
glad to meet you dBV! I also tend to think of fruitless exercise however that’s what they want us to believe. Why do you think here they ‘forecast’ bipartisan gov with ND and PASOK?
i think that the best idea before an election should have been a forum. what we lack as country is a vision of the future. where do we want to be in 10-20 years time. instead of blindly following order from the EU we should have had a official forum with represantives from all walks of life. some politicians, economists, religious leaders, teachers, scientists, some of the unions. it would have been crazy with lots of people but the idea would be an open ground for discussion away from the windows on tv and the papers. suggestions and ideas flowing some might even stick. also if so many different categories of people and society took part. people would be more confident that everyone is trying to work things out. instead all we have is politicians who have little clue about how most of the country works saying anything that comes to mind.
good ideas for other countries 🙁
“Why do you think here they ‘forecast’ bipartisan gov with ND and PASOK?”
You are a clever person, KTG.
it’s propaganda just to scare undecided voters who normally cast a vote according to the …trend.
i believe it was a couple of newspapers and media channels belonging to certain individuals who out of all the things the polls show they decided to narrow on and read them the way the media owners want. for years these people have worked with the 2 main parties to get whatever they want. the closer to elections the more support the 2 main parties will get from these media outlets and the more all the other parties will get snickers and mockery and be characterised as extreme. i like the fact that if you read european newspapers they classify anyone who doesnt agree with the EU plan as extreme politics. so far as i know there are only 2 extremes. extreme left and extreme right. according to media there is a new extreme. the ones that dont agree with them.
“I am pro-Europe. [ snip ]If this current Europe has mutated into a nightmare for its citizens, that’s another story”
“Pro-Europe” and “pro-EU” are 2 different things. Only those oppressing us want us to forget the difference. Europe is a continent, and a wonderful common culture. The EU is a failing political system.
no, we don’t forget the difference.
i was and i am pro-europe. i felt that as a continent we have suffered enough through the centuries through blind hate and petty differences. and that the EU project could have been a wonderful inititative to heal the scars and to help the different countries and people understand eachother better and even rub some of the better qualities so that eventually we kept the good of all and tried to minimize the bad. what has ended up happening is aggravating all the stereotypes and making the divisions even harder. i believe it is because what started as a social melding of people and ideas became a political and economical powerhouse. and the social aspect was left behind. and as it is well known when politics and power-brokering gets ahead its the beggining of the end. it could have been so good now all we see is the media and politicians spouting their divisive drivel to put a wedge between the various people. divide and conquer that is what they are doing.
Bravo!
I am pro-Europe. Because I grew up in a european country and was raised with European history and culture. Because I lived most of my life in several European countries.——————-
There is a world of difference between being pro-Europe and pro-EU and that’s where people tend to get confused, many actually believe that to support Europe/European countries they have to be supportive of the EU, not so at all. Europe is a continent made up of different cultures, heritages, religions etc. The European Union is an entity whose sole aim, and has been since its conception, through propaganda, lies & fearmongering, is to achieve a Federal State of Europe, a Europe where every person loses their independent national identity, becomes an EU citizen, with maps redrawn where sovereign states are defined as regions. Van Rompey has already stated publicly that their intention is to do away with independent, sovereign nations, and here in Britain we’ve had politicans talking of POST-democracy, the EU is NOT democratic, never was, never will be. Barrosso, is a marxist, and many making the rules/laws in the EU are either communist, marxists or trots. I love Europe, but detest the EU.
that’s why I said it turned into a nightmare.