Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Allende Needed 3 Years. SYRIZA Only 6 Months?

Below are a few quotes from different articles appearing in the Ekathimerini today: 

“Greece’s social security funds are experiencing a dramatic decline in revenues. These developments, combined with the drop in tax revenues, have led to a 51.6 percent drop in the general government’s primary budget result from the first quarter of 2014.”

“According to the data announced by the ministry, pension funds are in dire straits as the state has reduced its funding to them by 17.1 percent and their revenues have dropped by 12.1 percent on an annual basis, amounting to 8.02 billion euros against 9.15 billion a year earlier.”

“Expired state debts climbed to 4.43 billion euros at end-March from 4.01 billion at end-February, adding 418 million euros in just one month. Most of the expired debts burden healthcare organization EOPYY (1.39 billion euros) and hospitals (903 million euros). The obligations of the Civil Servants’ Pension Fund amounted to 382 million euros while those of local authorities reached 319 million.”

“Greece finds itself in a state of quarantine, as is anything related to the ‘Greek risk,’ due to the ongoing uncertainty and the danger of a serious liquidity accident. Foreign banks and stockbrokerages have either drastically cut or altogether stopped conducting transactions with their Greek peers over fears of the complications an accident or capital controls would generate.”

“Payments for a number of European Commission-subsidized projects in Greece have been severely delayed in recent months during the crucial period just before their completion, according to the Association of Greek Construction Companies (SATE).” 

"’State projects around the country are falling apart as they see work stop one after another due to the financial constraints of construction firms,’ a SATE statement warned on Monday.”

Salvatore Allende, the world's first democratically elected Marxist head of government, needed 3 years to run Chile's economy into the ground. Could it be that SYRIZA will manage to accomplish this in 6 months?

17 comments:

  1. Isn't it an unfair suggested glory: Tsipras to be compared with Allende?
    Time will come that he will be categorized in a complete other list.
    There is not even a word for it, not yet, because what is happening now has never ever happened before. The world will find the word and it will be used everywhere, to be able to explain what the total content is.

    It is not about building up, in this case. It is about breaking down, in three months time. To kill a nation within three months. The end is not even there, they have just started to take over Greece, the mind of Greeks, like a virus, or an ultra aggressive psychological cancer.

    Destructive forces belong to the power of evil.
    Evil has many faces. Always hidden behind masks, always new, always misleading.
    Not only in fairy tales, also in the reality of the present, and in history.

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  2. You hope for Pinochet. Right?

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    Replies
    1. He hopes for Pinochet's ways, but without Pinochet. A bit like "I want dictatorial powers to enforce a policy without popular reaction, without the dictator". Never has happened, never will.

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    2. @ Anonymous at 7.43
      Your attempt at being a mindreader was a failure, I am sorry to inform you. I do not hope for the things you describe.

      What I have indeed hoped for when I started this blog 4 years ago was that Chile would get the type of economic leadership that Chile had after Allende. By that, I mean the economic model originally initiated by the Chicago Boys and, after they failed, improved by their successors. The Chilean economic model lead to the conversion one of the poorest Latin American countries into probably the most successful economy today. The Left and the Right have governed Chile since but neither of the two changed that model. This is what I wrote about Chile/Greece in the first month of my blog:

      http://klauskastner.blogspot.co.at/2011/06/many-people-look-at-things-how-they-are.html

      You should contrast that with this depiction of the Greek radical mindset by Costas Douzinas:

      https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/costas-douzinas/very-european-coup

      Douzinas should discuss his paper with the Castro's of Cuba and they would tell him what utter nonsense he has written. Seldom have I read anything where, in the same article, an "emphasis on the humanitarian crisis" was stipulated as the major strategy while mentioning at the same time that "the bars and tarvernas are still busy". This person and others who share his views ought to have their minds examined.

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    3. @Klaus. I have worked alongside Douzinas, and nicknamed him Dozey after a few days of dealing with him. He is a nice enough guy, with good intentions, but just full of hot air. If you ask him actually to do anything even slightly radical, he runs away. That is how all of these non-British academics in the UK make their careers so quickly: they conform to the system at all times, but write "revolutionary" garbage that they have no intention of ever putting into practice.

      Varoufakis, on the other hand, is not such a person (although I have never met him). He is more serious, despite some character defects that became rather too visible in political office. (Friends who worked alongside him in UoA have confirmed that these traits were there a decade or more ago)

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  3. How much for Obama?

    http://klauskastner.blogspot.it/2015/01/alexis-tsipras-it-was-just-like-obamas.html

    Do NOT lose faith yet! Let his implement his wonderful plan!


    "SYRIZA has now come out with a full report about the Thessaloniki Speech. I must say that this is the first comprehensive (and understandable!) policy statement I have seen from anyone in Greece. If I didn't know the country and if I didn't know the authoring party, I might guess that it came from the inventors of the Social Market Economy (Ludwig Erhard). There isn't really anything in there where I could say upfront "This is stupid!" or something like that. In fact, some of the most critical points are phrased in very moderate fashion ("gradually" we will do this or that)."

    http://klauskastner.blogspot.it/2015/01/specific-plans-of-syriza-government.html

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    1. The conclusion of my then article was: "Any fool can throw a stone into the sea but, once he has done that, not even a hundred wise men can get it out again." Since then, I have become convinced that SYRIZA are not wise men.

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    2. Unfortunately, many Greeks also get convinced about their politicians not being wise, after the elections. This is the problem. A greek proverb says "any prophet after the coming of Christ, is a donkey" (meaning, the prophets were supposed to tell of the coming of Christ before, not after his coming). A small note, i have never heard the greek proverb you mention.

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    3. And a further note. SYRIZA, like traditionally the greek left has always done, is very capable with words. SYRIZA's good fortune is also the fact that the voters were running out of alternatives. Even more, today, SYRIZA has no opposition, because of the inability of New Democracy to replace Samaras. In ND they have the view that something sudden may happen or SYRIZA proclaim surprise elections and catch ND with her pants down while they are having internal affairs on voting new leader. Unfortunately, they 've got it all wrong. Samaras is burnt card for New Democracy. The sooner they realize it, the better. And Dora Bakoyanni, aspiring new leader, will also be a gift to Tsipras should she become new leader. Dora is also part of the old sinner politicians that the people are disgusted of.

      Still, SYRIZA has seen an unprecedented drop in popularity and trust in very short time. But it has very good propaganda plan. They are really doing marvels in the comunication field and have no shame in saying anything. They are also very careful in not disappointing anyone, as long as the negotiations aren't finished. This is crucial, because they know, that once they bite into the people's wallet, their popularity will drop even further and faster. So, they say they will defend red lines etc, at the same time they make concessions, but nobody makes public the details. Contrary to the more obtuse ND comunication staff, where you knew the cuts that would arrive 2 years down the road and the opposition was taking advantage of it to strike you daily.

      If there is a political reaction in the center, like a new party with more serious personalities, SYRIZA will bleed power quickly.

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    4. "If there is a political reaction in the center, like a new party with more serious personalities, SYRIZA will bleed power quickly."

      Sounds like To Potami with Theodorakis if you ask me. Only problem is that Theodorakis is not a raving populist promising the world to the voters.. and thus he won't win any elections in Greece.

      /Stockholm observer

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    5. It's generally considered that Theodorakis (and the fake "party" named To Potami) was sponsored by ND to try to avert the election of Syrza as a government. In other words, this is not a serious political party interested to govern Greece: it is theatre designed to bring ND back to power by splitting the opposition to ND.

      I see no reason to contest this analysis, as Theodorakis has no serious economic plans or personnel to support governance,or anything at all. Just vote collecting.

      What amazes me is that people come on these blogs and write such nonsense, that nobody without an agenda who is living in Greece and possesses more than three brain cells could take seriously.

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    6. My post was in response to the above commentator that asked for a new centric party. I haven't followed To Potami closely, but to me it seems Theodorakis at least have the vision to transform Greece into a modern European country, whereas Syriza, in their foolishness, believe they can transform Europe to suit their socalist dream.

      And could you perhaps provide some proof that shows To Potami is a fake party funded by ND? Because saying that it's "generally considered" does not hold water, especially not in a country obsessed with conspiracy theories. Or perhaps you just prefer to latch on to any conspiracy theory that suits your political views.

      As for personnel, I have to agree. It's hard to match the likes of Konstantopoulou, Lafazanis, Kammenos, Makri, etc. #RollsEyes

      /Stockholm observer

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    7. @Anonymous. What proof do you want? It seems pretty clear to me that a party with unknown backers, one celebrity journalist who created the party, no links with anything, no policies worth mentioning... is a fake party. He spent most of his time charming female voters.

      Nor do I find it sensible to talk about centre parties. What was not centre about most of Pasok and ND? They both had the same agenda of employing their family and friends, promoting the interests of their own party, and doing nothing for Greece.

      I don't know how many times I have to explain this to non-Greeks, but the northern European party systems based on socio-economic cleavages do not exist in Greece. The last clear division was that of the civil war -- between monarchists and communists. Since then, there has been no clear categorisation of group interests for a political party to latch onto. That is why Pasok in 1981 started to fill the state sector with its own supporters, to create a part of the society that would automatically support Pasok for the future. ND was an opposition to this, but primarily in order to feather their own nest.

      So, who would support a centre party? The only logical position would be any large party with technocrats and intellectuals to be a guiding force for all of Greece. The River was not such. We had hoped that a modernised Syriza could be -- but time is not on their side.

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    8. So another conspiracy theory then.

      *yawn*

      /Stockholm observer

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    9. No, the onus is on you to prove that River is a serious party, and not a scam. I do not engage in conspiracy theories; I deal with facts.

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  4. May I suggest they go back to study at the universities, now that they have re-introduced the eternal student. With their apres moi Le deluge attitude they have done enough in 3 month, I hate to think what they can do in 6.

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