Masks have fallen with in a manner of unprecedented boldness. German Chancellor Angela Merkel openly admitted that the austerity programme imposed on Greece was necessary just to set an example to the other euro zone countries.
Young Merkel’s Most Secret Wish:
“Greeks as lab rats? Greeks as lab rats…”
Here is the story from Deutsche Presse Agentur:
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended Tuesday the austerity imposed on Athens, five days before Greece’s general election, as necessary to set an example to the entire eurozone.
“The question of whether Greece carries out its programme is not just a question of whether the programme succeeds or not, but rather of whether obligations will be observed in Europe in future,” Merkel told an audience of Christian Democratic Union-supporting business leaders.
She stressed that a bailout sought by Spain for its banks was different from the bailouts for Greece.
“I find it correct that Spain made an application for the recapitalization of its banks, because the problems of its banks do not cover up any lack of macroeconomic reforms, but are the result of a real-estate bubble over the past decade,” said Merkel.
“There will be conditionality for Spain when the application arrives. It will require restructuring of the banks,” she said. (DPA)
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s intention to mete out exemplary punishment to Greece so as to dissuade other country’s from breaking the rules was initially reported by Italian daily Il Messaggero five days ago.
Merkel getting ready to kiss a lab rat
PS As it doesn’t matter whether the austerity programme succeeds or not and it makes no difference whether Greece carries out the programme, I assume it does not matter either, whether the bailout loan would be paid back or not. It was jsut an experiment that failed…
Experiments with lab rats sometimes fail, especially when the lab rats prove unable to survive the contemptible attempts of the mad scientist….
They want war. That what they want !
It’s good for their industries !!!
Fuck them !
-fx
Merkel a SYRIZA agent? The conspiracy theorists are going to love this! For a good while now the European forums have been buzzing with the question “Who does Merkel Really work for?” the CIA? Maybe the Russians? Or is she just a Stazi mole gone mad? NO! this is the proof, 5 days before the crucial election she drops this nuclear bomb in the EU lap. She’s been working for SYRIZA all the time, just biding her time…
Joking aside, she could indeed not have picked a better time to make a statement like this. If this does not sink the pro-austerity boat, nothing ever will. And for adnitting to this, she should be charged with crimes against humanity!
oh her evil plan is clear: force her love lab rats vote for syriza -that will most probably cancel the MoU – which will force lenders to cut the financial aid – with the effect that syriza will drop the EZ and EU = Angie will be happy to have gotten rid of Greece and turn her attention to her next lab rats.
too stupid to be true…
Yeah, the “lab rats” should be suspicious of the fact that the “mad scientists” are clatterring with the open door of the cage!
😀
Don’t like to say I told you so, but I did say on KTG that Greece was being being used as an experiment to see how far they could go, how far they could push the Greek people, and if/when it suits the unelected bureaucrats in Brussels they’ll walk away from Greece without a backward glance.
All this to the EU was a beneficial crisis so they could realise their cherised dream of a Federal State of Europe. Merkel, Van Rompey & Barrosa have been talking about full economic & sovereign union for weeks, giving up your independence. I don’t believe they expected their beneficial crisis to get so out of hand though, now they will do anything to prop up the euro, see everyone single person of Europe in the gutter.
I read in the Greek reporter, 27th May, that there’s been talk in Berlin of making Greece a protectorate. http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/05/27/shocking-german-article-in-berlin-they-even-consider-military-coup-scenarios-for-greece/
Is keeping the euro worth giving up your independence & freedom for.
conspiracy is a master from germany
Why would we make Greece a protectorate? That would be as much use for us as adding a third, crippled arm to our bodies. It would be nothing but a nuissance. You showed all other nations in the world that your country is a total mess, nobody is interested in making Greece a colony. Sorry folks, but you’ll finally have to learn to govern yourself, there isn’t anybody else who wants to do that job for you.
there were quite some statements by German officials und unofficials on this issue @Gray.
Don’t pay attention to the official statements. Those are just diplomacy. Rather take note of the lot of talk about preparations for a Grexit. The patience with Greece is finally exhausted, everybody only wants the country to leave. Enough already with all the headlines about the Greek mess that reflect badly on the Eurozone! It’s high time to throw the rotten apple out of the basket.
“diplomacy”? ahahahaha…
The problem with argument by analogy is not only that it is not argument, but that it can be inverted. Is it Greece that is the rotten apple or Germany? Germany and France were the first countries to break the rules of the debt ratio — not Greece. Almost everything that Germany has been doing is on the verge of illegality or actually illegal; certainly, everything that is planned and being talked about is contrary to democratic principles of liberal democracies.
Since we had to impose democracy and actually write the Basic Law for Germany, maybe it is time for Europe and the USA to do so again. It is clear that Frau Lard-Ass has no interest in the rule of law or of democratic accountability. The last time Germans elected a leader with this attribute, there were some very nasty consequences.
@ KTG
Don’t be ridiculous. There is no German statement whatsoever to “occupy Greece” or “make it a protectorate”. Such ideas are completely delusional. There is one true German threat to Greece: stop funding it. Bad enough for Greece but that’s it. “Military occupation” scenarios however are a matter of hallucination.
I’m not talking ot military occupatin scenarios, as German media love to promote. I’m talking of German officials’ statements on “protectorate” in form of appointing a budget commissioner. Remember the debate in winter?
According to recent news reports, it’s rather the French who will send experts to overhaul the administration. Poor fools. Nothing will come out of that, the Greek government will find hundreds of ways to omitt firing anyone. While “outsourcing” the difficult administrative jobs may be the only way to improve the effing bureaucracy, the unavoidable Greek resistance to any foreigner trying to change something will prevent any successes. It’s hopeless.
You can bet that the EU Commission would love to govern Greece directly (with German money, of course. And UK money, as our politicos are traitors also). Then roll the system out over the other EU countries.
You can bet that the EU Commision won’t. And the Germans, neither. What’s to be gained from doing the hard work of governing a bankrupt, srewed up country full of violent rebels? A big fat nothing.
Interesting, even though I agree with your nationalist viewpoint, we have a very different view of the motivation of those who run the EU. What is to be gained ? Power. Violent rebels ? An oportunity to begin to develope the more robust forms of it.
Where have I heard this before with certain members of an elite system that experimented on a certain sector of society.
It is disdainful that Merklel sees the Greek nation as a throw away commodity.
Could not conquer militarily so destroys financially.
Shame is all I feel.
Hi KTG, I believe you misunderstood Merkel.
Its the opposite of your “PS” statement.
What Merkel said is, that the greek austerity programme is way more important, not only for greece, but also it is also a signal that the european governments can still act and will hold true to their promises. If greece will fail to uphold its pledges, it would be a sign that no country can. And that would make everything worse. Nobody would loan any money to the other weak countries.
Therefore greece must stick to the austerity programme.
And since she did not say that greece is unable to do anything, her words imply that the she still believes that a greek government can still change the course of hellas.
Other point:
I don’t understand how serious the threat of SYRIZA is. As far as I can see the greek voters will make the choice of a government led by either ND or SYRIZA. Neither of them will get enough votes to form a single party government, so it will be a coalition. (I really do hope that the greek politcans have come to the conclusion, that a third election is out of the question.) A coalition should prevent extreme measures like leaving the euro. And I also believe that SYRIZA will very fast learn, that is is either the MoU or no money at all. In my eyes SYRIZA is most likely to try some serious changes. ND seemed to be stalling the reform process. The ND programm is a totally unfounded whishlist of things that won’t come true. SYRIZA’s is a little more realistic, and SYRIZA seems to be willing to get a grip on the rich greeks, which ND tried to avoid at all costs. So what are your fears concerning SYRIZA?
did I? no country can uphold its pledges that were given by politicians who disappeared from the scene after failing to negotiate a programme that ended “killing” the majority of people each and every day, and causing the deepest economic recession the country experience outside times of war.
“threat of SYRIZA”? Erbarme die SYRIZA kommen…
What threat? Syriza nullifying the Troika deal will lead to a end of all rescue plan payments. Greece will have to default and return to the Drachme. Everybody will be better off, even the Greeks, if Tspiras doesn’t screw up like all other governments before. But at least that won’t be an Eurozone problem anymore. It’s the silver line on the horizon, not anything to fear.
Let’s have cool-blooded logic prevail and not fail victims to propaganda: Syriza won’t be able to govern alone, it would need coalitions with other political parties that will stop it from nullifying the MoU deal. Therefore, I ask “what threat?”.
Remember the 50 seat bonus, kt. Afaik it only takes about a thhird of the vote for the biggest party to be able to govern alone. And even if Syriza fails to get more than 30%, who says its coalition partner will be more reasonable?
i wrote what I wrote taking into consideration the 50 seats bonus. hardly anyone believes it will get more than 30%.
Hardly anybody believed Syriza would become second strongest party, neither. I won’t bet on any outcome, much too risky.
the pollsters didn’t 🙂
There is a small possibility that the Germans have pissed off Hreeks so much, that Syriza might form a majority government.
ON the issue of default, it is not legally or politically correct that Greece would have to leave the euro by rejecting the Memorandum. The plan that the Germans have is to (illegally) starve the Greek banks of liquidity so that the economy will fail rapidly and Greece will have to print its own currency.
Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that Greece could take legal action against the ECB and precipitate a constitutional crisis of Europe. This would certainly be my advice to Tsipras; we have all had enough of the stupid arrogance of Germans in recent years. There is no point in having a European Union if it follows the path that lard-ass Merkel is trying to force down everyone’s throats.
No such conspiracy against the Greek banks (who are bankrupt anyway and don’t have any right to further support). The plan simply is to stop the rescue payments to the government. Since Greece still doesn’t manage to make its ends meet, even without paying a single cent for interests or debt payments out of its own pockets, the state won’t be able to cover its expenses anymore. And that only leaves the options of letting the publiuc sector employees starve or to pay them with freshly printed Drachmes. As always, the Greek government will then chose the way of least resistance. Goodbye Eurozone.
You are a silly little ignoramus. Most of Europe’s banks are bankrupt. The Greek banks are in a mess for two reasons only: (1) wealthy Greeks have taken their money out and lodged it in German banks; (2) the Greek banks were coerced into buying Greek bonds in the last decade and their losses are from that. Unlike the banks in most other EU countries, the Greek banks did not speculate and did not have toxic debt.
And your comment that there is no such conspiracy is just a downright lie. If you don’t know what is going on, then don’t pretend to and pay attention to those who do. If you do know, then you are a manipulative liar. I still wonder what you are doing on all these blogs about Greece — since you neither live in Greece nor have connections here, it seems. Just trolling?
It was rather the ECB lending guidelines which led Greek banks into buying Greek bonds (they needed those “assetts” to be able to get cheap Euro credits) . Nobody profits from that except the Greek government (which struggles to find other buyers for its risky papers). Where is any profit in that for the Germans or anybody else? What’s to be gained from a conspiracy against bankrupt banks and a bankrupt government? Nothing. Your stupid theory doesn’t make any sense.
You assume that others are as ignorant as you of the realities of the eurozone.
The reason that things will be done in that way is that legally Germany does not have the right to remove Greece from the euro. Greece is a part-owner of the ECB; Germany does not run Europe, even though Hitler tried to arrange that. Therefore, they will do it illegally. Can you understand the difference between legality and illegality?
Greece had (and to some extent still has) the capacity to bring down Europe. In my opinion, since the idiot Papandreou did everything the Troika told him to do, with disastrous consequences for the Greek people, then the conclusion is clear. Greece needs to elect a Syriza government to play hardball with Merkel: if the Germans don’t give way, then Greece has the moral right to bring down Europe. The eurozone is such a fuckup, this is not difficult to do. And you know what? I think many Europeans would understand, that Greece was just reacting to the Nazi mentality that Germany has yet again displayed within Europe. It seems that some people never learn their lessons.
Hahaha, “the moral right to bring down Europe”! Nice ethics. You folks are so nuts, with your vastly exaggerated sense of self-importance. Pls do us Germans a favor and vote Syriza. It’s high time Greece learns that nobody will pay even more money to keep such a screwed up nation in the Eurozone. Instead, everybody is hoping for the Grexit now. We others will be much better off without you loonies!
Anyone with an appropriate level of education in either science or economics is aware that in this terrible mess of the eurozone that Germans have created, anything can bring it down. The system is unstable, unsustainable and beyond repair; the slightest stress may trigger collapse.
And I am sorry to tell you, as a Brit, that the most screwed up in nation in Europe has always been the Germans. The entire 19th century was spent waging war in Europe, and two world wars in the twentieth. Greeks, despite their eccentric economic and social attributes, have done rather less damage to the world than Germans.
I wonder why you are on all these Greek sites anyway: I have also seen your inane comments on the Varoufakis site.
Hahaha, a Brit telling me the Euro is doomed! And that the most screwed up nation is Germany, not Greece or the UK. What else is news? You Limies won’t ever change your delusions.
😛
The euro is doomed because of the flawed construction made 14 years ago by Germany and France, and the inability of German politicians currently to deal with reality. Instead, you have all created a storyline about the virtuous Germans and the lazy Greeks, and how everything is the fault of the Greeks.
In fact, everything is clearly the fault of the Germans. Now is the time for this to be understood, and for Germans to accept responsibility for their incompetence. There is still time to save the euro, but it will require the surgical removal of German arrogance from a lot of heads.
Hahaha, “everything is the fault of the Germans”!
😀
You may seriously believe that, but this nonsense shows all the other readers here that you can’t be taken seriously.
“Everything” refers to the functioning of the eurozone, obviously not every single thing (as you are dishonestly trying to imply).
Even this shows that you are not an honest broker.
Gray, you appear to know what you’re talking about so why haven’t you commented on what the ultimate aim of Merkel, Van Rompey & Barroso is, a Federal State of Europe, more so Van Rompey & Barroso.
Whatever way you want to dress it up they’re using this as a beneficial crisis to hurry along their ambitions. They will use fear, already Barroso is using the words ‘social emergency’to scare the people of the eurozone to give up their independence.
I’ve linked to EUref which links to Barroso addressing a joint European Parliament & European Council meeting.
http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=82780
Xenos you are the epitome of the failed Greek experiment of the last 30 years. Educated in a system that fosters conspiracy beliefs you foolishly believe that this is a poker game and that Greece is holding a royal flush. This is the distorted reality you live in. Tsipras will go to troika and come back with his tail between his legs and tell the Greek people some more lies that it was someone else’s fault that he could not renegotiate the memorandum with them. Maybe then you will gain a better perspective on reality.
I have no idea of what you are talking about. I was educated in the UK and was a professor of political economy there. Now I live and work in Greece.
Do enlighten me as to your special abilities that inform you better of reality. It looks to me as if you simply repeat the media propaganda in a rather loud voice.
“I was educated in the UK and was a professor of political economy there. Now I live and work in Greece.”
Hahaha! That’s the citation of the day! Go on, xenos, go on! You make my day!
I am happy to hear that your days are easily made. However, I do not understand what you are talking about.
Gray, I thought you liked Greece? You are being mean now. Not all Greeks are loonies and will vote for Sryinga you know. When you say Greeks are loonies, do you mean “all” (oli)? You remember what happened to Lagaurde when she painted us all with the same brush.
Rethink your last comment as normally you are more polite to us Greeks, and Greek-somethings.
Yeah, I’m mean, I’m sorry about that. But I really have had enough of all those stupid conspiracy theories, as if anybody else was responsible for the Greek mess but the Greeks in the first place! And I’m sick and tired of all the discussion points of Greeks focussing on what everybody else should do for them instead of what they can do themselves to improve their situation. I really don’t understand why we Germans should continue to support people with our tax Euros that are so obviously unwilling (maybe unable) to get their own stuff in order. Who are we, everybody’s rich uncle or the European welfare agency? Enough already.
Sorry for this rant. I’m well aware there are many reasonable Greeks who are suffering the most under the lunacy of their system. But sadly, it doesn’t look as if they are a majority. And as long as the fools rule, what shall we Germans do? Hand them even more money to waste? Understandably, most here (recent poll: 72% are for a Grexit) have had enough of that. With a lot of sympathy for the reasonable Greeks, but we can’t change their country for them.
I know that Germans tend to be stubborn and pig-headed, but do you really believe the crap that you are writing? — that the economic crisis of the eurozone is caused by Greece? That the changed structure of the Greek economy and debt was nothing to do with the incompetent management of the euro by Germany and France?
I guess you simply follow the wisdom of the Third Reich — propaganda needs to be repeated loudly and often. In which case, we can respond with appropriate comments about how slow Germans are to learn their place in the world.
I know that you tend to be full of crap, from your comments at other websites, but today you’re especially dumb in the brain. I didn’t write anywhere, ever, that “the economic crisis of the eurozone is caused by Greece”. Instead, I did express my opinion, here and elsewhere, that the crisis was caused by hypercapitalism in general and especially the effing Americans, that there isn’t one common reason for the GIPSI’s being in trouble, but a unique set for each nation, and that the Greek mess is responsible for the majority of negative headlines about the Eurozone, so a Grexit would be better for Europe. I don’t really know why I explain this to you, because you jerk will probably forget it as soon as you read it. Well, just for the record, then.
did YOU read my commenting-advice?
BTW: if Grexit is better for Europe, why all this (German, Austria, EU officials) pressure on Greek voters to reject syriza and vote pro-bailout ND?
Since no Greek guy would do what a foreign government tells him (not even what his own government tells him), it’s obviously a conspiracy to push people towards voting for the other party, Syriza!
😀
Exactly. All the evidence is quite clear that anyone with any brain and knowledge of the economic situation is terrified of the consequences of Greece threatening to tear up the Memorandum. Quite simply, because there is no legal way to evict Greece from the euro, there is no sanction other than denying loans to Greece that are being used almost solely to repay French, German and other banks plus the ECB. To remove Greece from the euro would be cutting off the EU’s nose to spite its own face, since the whole system would just fall apart.
The propagandists will just deny this reality, of course.
Perhaps you have the same opinion of my books and published research, which tend to be stocked by most German university libraries. As far as I am aware, you have no academic training worth speaking of, and no right to expect to be taken seriously. You will note that I did not make any personal comments about you, but I concede that my characterisation of Germans was a little harsh.
I have no idea what you think hypercapitalism is; is this your own terminology or some trendy post-structuralist speak? Whichever, the reality is that the eurozone is in a mess through its faulty construction – the responsibility of Germany and France — and secondarily through the German refusal to modify its operation over the last two years. It has nothing at all to do with Greece, although Greece was the first victim of its failure.
Here’s something to educate you a little, since it is clear that your understanding of economics is pre-pubertal:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ash-amin/elite-hauteur-greece-niger-and-imf
Prof Amin is one of the most respected political economists around, and I certainly share his view on what is going on now with the German neoliberal takeover of Europe.
Gray, has anyone considered that Germany or Germans could set up a charity to help poor Greeks (or poor people in General) and then could decide to dole it out based on a need. Like the Red Cross or something. That way at least you’d see that the Greeks who need it got it as opposed to wondering if it’s going to a new Lalaounis Jewelry piece for someone.
Yes. This is already happening:
http://www.sos-kinderdorf.de/moma_bericht_griechenland.html?mc=grants.europa.griechenland&wt_kw=griechenland%20spende&gclid=CM-W-PKoy7ACFYrP3wodvWh0Wg
However, that charity that houses orphans and poor children in Greece has run into financial trouble after the Greek government passed a law that TAXES such welfare! So much for the foolish endeavour of trying to help Greece. You can’t get anything done without the administration demanding their handouts, either as fakelakis or as taxes. But it’s probably the same in Africa, I guess.
For those of you who are economically illiterate, Germany has set up a charity system to protect German interests, mainly banks.
In the case of Greece, it is quite true that the corrupt Greek politicians have set up a state system that tries to tax and cheat all welfare and charity, and generally extorts money illegally from the poorer citizens. The only problem for Germans is that they have supported and promoted the crooked politicians who did this, and have made no effort to control them. The game that Merkel is playing is entirely theatre, and has nothing to do with reality.
This is bulls**t! Greece is not an experiment, Greece is a victim of itself. That people of Greece would believe this crap is proof! But hey laikismos sells newspapers in Greece, and brings people to your blogs! Isn’t that right keeptalkinggreece?
if KTg is too laicist for you, you do not need to visit the site. We can’t help if Merkel says it personally…
Interesting debate here with accusations flying left and right, but can you tame your language, dear KTG commentators?
Otherwise, we will delete comments and ban users and that would be a heavy blow to the democratic expression of opinions
🙂
I know that xenos guy from his coments at other websites. He hasn’t ever been able to tame his pathologically anti-German rants, so I’m afraid your call for civility is useless. However, I will stop answering to him since it will only trigger more of his crap. Hopefully, this will make it too boring here for him!
🙂
You do not know this xenos guy and moreover you do not know that part of his family is German. i have no anti-German feelings, and rather worry about the terrible road that some — repeat, some — Germans have started to go down. Learn from your history.
You admitted that you’re a reader of Varoufakis’ blog. There’s a commenter there who (among other pseudononyms) runs under the moniker “xenos”, spreading the same onesidedly anti-German stuff as you do, in the same provocatively insulting style. Even the very tolerant Prof V. had enough of that and asked for a more reasonable tone. So, yes, I know you, even though I have no interest in knowing you personally. And as for your alleged German roots – we have lots of weird conspiracy theorists here, too, that doesn’t mean anything.
Is this the German way to “stop answering”? Only after you’ve had the last word anyway?
Got me.
😀
These are outright lies. I have never been asked to adopt a more reasonable tone, because what I write is reasonable and I hope correct. The fact that you as a German do not like some of these facts is your problem.
Kindly retract your allegation, which is defamatory.
I post only with this moniker — contrary to your other allegation that I post under other pseudonyms. Kindly also retract that insulting comment.
In hosting this blog, KTG is giving us a very good oportunity to understand the different views of real people from the countries entangled in present events. We will not get this from the MSM. There are ways of being very clear about what we mean without insults, and will learn more from each other that way.
Of course, you’re right, Brit. Will try to tone my comments down. Reacting on name calling with insults doesn’t help the discussion, that’s true.
KTG has comments been stopped on this thread as I’ve posted 2 and they’ve not appeared, usually they appear with awaiting moderation.
??????????
I see now: 3 of your comments landed in the spam section as they were …spams (3x the same text with same link? that’s spam, dear)
Sorry for the confusion, but I wasn’t spamming, honest :)Where the first one didn’t show up as posts normally do, on screen awaiting moderation, I did another, same problem as the first, then another, presumable that’s why they showed up as spam. But it’s odd the first post didn’t show up yet the one where I asked if comments had stopped did. Strange.
you’re excused lol I posted only one & deleted the rest 🙂 (3x incl link, one same without).
Sorry for the double posts, I didn’t think the ones I posted would go through.