ALLIANCE FO§ DEMOCRACY

Pulling in Opposite Directions

The news coming from Athens and Berlin these days would be amusing if it weren’t so sad. This drama is giving rise to fear. Greek bankruptcy is closer, German Finance Minister Schäuble said recently. His Greek counterpart Varoufakis denied this and accused him of a lapse in thought. Such political posturing, like a marital spat.
Nevertheless, the talks continue. Their irrelevance doesn’t seem to matter at the level of international politics. The two sides argue. Soon, it gets down to the nitty-gritty. In June, Greek must pay back €1.5 billion to the IMF. It can’t but it intends to – the messages are confusing. The ECB wants to continue supporting the Greeks. The money has run out – the Schäuble/Varoufakis marital spat is a journalistic feast.
There are no results. There can be no results. So, two men who happen to know something about the economy argue and can’t agree, but are forced to play along with the Goldman Sachs puppeteers association.
The problem is as intractable as the Gordian Knot; the marriage cannot be salvaged, nor can the common household: the Greek and German national budgets.
It is almost cute the way Schäuble pouts and says he does not know whether he wants to continue to support Greece, then he barks about how there is no agreement with Greece. As if Schäuble himself were able to decide this. As if Schäuble had money in the fund that he could spend.
The big theatrical drama. Not quite free, but as the world sinks there must be at least something to laugh at. For this, we are grateful to all the actors, especially those who report on it instead of shedding light on the problems behind the scenes.
Newspapers give differing accounts of what is discussed in the negotiations. Germany’s political conservatives, who want to preserve the euro at any cost, rag on Greece’s political left, who have nothing more to gain from the European austerity policy, as the end is coming anyway and the eurocrats are at the end of their rope.
There stand the two little goats on the other side of the fabled bridge. We already know that they are going to fall in the water, and when: American financial guru Martin A. Armstrong predicts that the bond market will collapse on 1 October 2015. Stock prices should follow.
And then what?
The State will raise taxes, what else. If the Schäuble-Varoufakis pair are still talking, it might sound like something you would hear from a real married couple: “I told you so.”
And what does all of this mean for us? Maybe the next prediction will be: It doesn't matter who said what. In a marriage, when each person is pulling in the opposite direction, because they are scared shitless and their pockets are empty, the couple must separate. Everyone is going to suffer anyway, except Goldman Sachs, which will continue to make money.
Let’s hope that with the collapse of the euro the forced marriage of Europeans comes to an end. Let’s hope that there are enough marriage counsellors to prevent the War of the Roses. Let’s pour into the streets as a people to celebrate the end of the forced marriage, and to put an end to the political theatre and take matters into our own hands – the days of false idols are over.