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Crisis? What Crisis?
The Greek "Debt Crisis", as it has been termed, could have been predicted and avoided. Greece became a member of the European Union in 1981 and was one of its poorest members. When it was accepted for membership of the elite club of European countries, the Berlin Wall was still standing and Greece was a desirable ally to include because of its strategic importance in the Balkans. It was a popular tourist destination for richer Europeans and North Americans, and was experiencing something of an economic boom as a result. By the time it joined the Eurozone in 2002, its tourism industry was going downhill for several reasons. First of all, tourists were beginning to realize that they were being ripped off under the garb of Greek exotica. The Greeks naively believed that they could overcharge unsuspecting tourists because Greece has wonderful natural beauty and numerous World Heritage Sites. They failed to appreciate that tourists are discerning and will always look for a bargain. Sure enough, tourists deserted Greek beaches in alarming numbers and instead chose to go to Turkey which can offer much the same holidays and quality of service as Greece. Turkey also boasts of amazing beaches and World Heritage sites, and as far as cities go, at least in my opinion, Istanbul rivals Athens as an attractive tourist destination. The Turks are very charming and charge much less than their Greek counterparts for tourism related services. The price hikes caused by switching to the Euro meant that Turkey was a more attractive option for tourist coming from the rest of Europe and the Americas. For some years, Turkey had been the last port of call for cruise boats and word got around that people could buy gold, silver, and fur at bargain prices in Turkey. So fewer people from these cruise boats ventured into shops in Athens. They simply got into coaches at the port of Piraeus and went to see the Acropolis and the Parthenon. They waited until they disembarked in Istanbul or Kusadasi to buy their souvenirs. Further, the cost of hosting the Olympic Games in Athens in the summer of 2004 was huge. Greece had to build new airports, buildings, and stadia to host events around Athens. New roads had to be built in order to connect the airport to the city. They also had to introduce the Metroand tram systems and generally cleaned up the capital city. The costs for doing all of this were astronomical and most of the financing was from the EU. In November 2004, the media reported that Greece had misrepresented its financial situation in order to join the Eurozone in 2002. It had never met the criteria and should not have been allowed to become a member of the single currency zone. With this kind of attitude towards spending and debt, one would think that the other member states would have been keeping a close eye on Greece's spending and economic situation. There have been several cases of corruption involving politicians in the country over the last decade, with money allegedly being misappropriated. There also seemed to be no repercussions for those involved in such scandals. Just as in some countries in the developing world, a walk around Athens would show that the black economy is thriving. That Greeks are now protesting the stringent measures implemented out of necessity by Giorgos Papandreou's socialist [PASOK] government is not surprising. They are past masters at tax avoidance. Even normally law-abiding citizens think nothing of not paying the appropriate personal tax, so millions of Euros are lost from the country's coffers in this way every year. Just cracking down on this would have sparked protests in Athens, but with the other measures that are being imposed because of the European terms and conditions for giving Greece the loan, such protests are likely to intensify. As always, the average Greek wants to have his/her cake and eat it too. Whether or not any laws passed now can, or will be implemented, remains to be seen. Greeks need to understand that the world has changed since their entry to the EU. The country is no longer as strategically important to western Europe as it once was. The Berlin Wall came down in 1989 symbolizing the end of the Cold War, but if Greece fails to toe the European line it may well find itself out in the cold.
Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com). Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in August, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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