I recently had a very interesting email exchange with a Greek whose name/position I will not reveal in order to respect confidentiality. Below is a text from him.
Quote
When we really start to do things, improve ourselves, revamp Greece from the ground up, perform a radical national reformation like the one Ataturk did with Turkey, no less! We need to:
- free ourselves from our toxic mindset of cheap patriotism and slash the military by 90%
- cast away our habit of being subsidized
- stop believing Greece deserves anything in modern times only because of its past. The merits of the past stay in the past.
- let's create a country we can be proud - because of our merits in modern times
- destroy our childish attitude of believing that others do not understand us
- erase our psychological obsession with blaming others, and especially Germany. Our sins are our sins. We are to blame for our own failures, not the others. If Siemens or Deutsche Telekom have abused our system, it's because our state is abusable and because we as a nation are abusable
Only if WE do these things we will have the right mindset to start enhancing our country - and only then will our brand image or our reputation improve. And that's exactly the way it should be.
Regarding the Greeks' love for putting themselves in the victim's role - I am amazed by it and find it incredible. And it's the proof of a miserable mentality with no real pride and self-esteem. Greece needs to be completely re-invented. And I believe that the April elections will be a seismic change. If you have seen the elections surveys, they are absolutely devastating.
End of quote
- free ourselves from our toxic mindset of cheap patriotism and slash the military by 90%-
ReplyDelete1) Excuse me you live in Austria or in Germany?
Because if you do accept that comment of the Greek and my question, you should accept also that countries who are still in negotiations with eu to intergrade rapidly (eg in 1 year) in Europe?
Yes?
If countries from region were trying (only trying!) to be like France, Belgium, and Austria the Greek would be totally right.
But here is Balkans. What is accepted to your country as rational eg to spend only 1% of GDP for military equipment and the other 3%-4% to education or R&D, was not rational in Greece.
Why is that? We were totally crazy to spend 4-5% of GDP for weapeans?
An examble, Turkey for instance do not accept the law of the sea in general terms.
Germany do not also? France?
I want to say that many countries do not accept procedures, laws and rules that all western european countries accepted before many years and i m talking about international laws which determine foreign relations.
So it is not only of the % of GDP spent for equipment and personel neither a matter of what somebody ask or want to negotiate, but how he ask something.
You ask it as being in eu or in a troubled middle east country? With what mentallity?
This is happening for at least 30 years to spend money like that.
--If Siemens or Deutsche Telekom have abused our system--
2) For Siemens , we are to blame, because if we have had a state with rules implemended to our local citizens and accordingly to foreigners Siemens would face much harsher penalties. So i agree.
For DT i disagree, DT bought 40% of Greek Telecom OTE with 25€/ share which is negotiated in GR Stock Exhange,(now is around 2.7 €)
Also DT sold parts of OTE in FYROM and in Serbia in order to handle the loans of the parent company OTE.
This is probably the German way of investing?
How do you evaluate the company?
http://www.ote.gr/portal/page/portal/InvestorRelation/IRKit/IR_Files_basket/OTE%20ANNUAL%20FINANCIAL%20REPORT%2031.12.2011%20ENGLISH.pdf
3)Elections surveys showing how the people are confused and angry with politicians.
Local political elites for many years have never try to make reforms and always were trying to fullfill what voters want.
They didn't say what was useful for people in long term.
All voters used that habit, for many years only to demand.
So the issue here is someone to explain the reality in Greece, what is happening in other european countries- to compare- so to find mistakes we made and to correct them.
People are also in fault.
But the ongoing statements from many europeans that Greece should exit Europe (might be a solution for them) make people more angry because most believe in europe, but act emotionally and make them to think that voting political parties which deny what we sign with imf and eu.
The main is to explain and then to change,but those thinks rarely do happen in the same time.
People will understand a logic argument from people outside of system
Please don't shoot the messenger (me). The above were not my words; they were the words of a Greek who wrote to me.
DeleteI m not "shooting" neither of you.
ReplyDeleteI am saying only that we would slash military by 99% if our region was bordered with Belgium or France, i didn't mean to offend you neither of you (if you are offended).