Greek PM feigns shock over EU-IMF reform plans

On Friday the IMF, EU and ECB (known locally as the Troika) announced their joint proposals concerning the future of the Greek economy and actions needed  to reduce the country's massive debt load which is set to exceed 150% of GDP this year. The most controversial element of the plan is the privatisation of 50 billion euros of public assets over the next three years and was protrayed in much of the media as a sell off of the family silver at bargain basement prices. Only the rabidly pro-PASOK Ethnos newspaper dared to present the news that troika representatives had issued an apology as a victory for the government.

In the face of such stiff opposition Greek Prime minister Giorgos Papandreou claimed to have blind sided by the EU-IMF saying that the press conference had given the impression that the Greek government was simply following the orders given it by the country's creditors.The reality of the situation is that the so-called argument is a rather crude PR trick designed to spin the fact that the ruling PASOK party have already agreed to carry out the measures demanded and is attempting to sell the public the idea that they are still in charge and not just acting as locally recruited management representatives.

The ploy has failed to convince even ardent government media supporters in the privately run SKAI channel who condemned it as a cheap theatrics. Indeed it is hard to believe that after months of negotiations the head of the Greek government was unaware of all the details of the EU-IMF strategy and was taken by surprise.

Actually, if you read Papandreou's actual complaint he was apparently not criticising the content of the Troika's press conference but the manner in which it was presented. Government minister for education Anna Diamantopoulou even went as far as to suggest that Troika representatives be banned from making public statements during a radio interview this morning.

Many Greek journalists and commentators have derided the plan to raise the 50 billion as impractical given the depressed state of the economy and the Greek state's abysmal record in selling off public assets. For example more than seven years after hosting the Olympic games in 2004 much of the expensive facilities built are falling apart, forgotten and neglected despite the billion dollar price tag.

Another fear is that given the deeply corrupt nature of Greek politics much of the assets will be sold off in sweet heart deals to friends and supporters of the government and so the sacrifices made by the Greek people will be wasted as little of the money will actually make it into public offers. These concerns are no just limited to a few crackpots but are daily reinforced as scandal after scandal involving officials from both of the largest political parties are swept under the carpet. Only last week charges against those involved in the massive Vatopedi monastery land swap scandal were dropped despite the fact that the case resulted in the Greek state losing hundreds of millions in lost revenue.Likewise revelations in Der Spiegel last year that members of the ruling PASOK party including an ex - minister of defence took bribes in return for buying German submarines have resulted in no official reaction of behalf of the country's justice system.

Given the inability of the political system to police itself the idea of politicians handling billions of dollars in real estate and public property is an invitation to corruption on a scale not seen since the debacle that followed the fall of the Soviet Union when massive fortunes were made by ruthless “businessmen” who used bribes and threats to amass fortunes by taking control of state owned industries.

Greece goes on strike

Yesterday the Greek parliament wAS in the process of debating a raft of new labour laws that would radically change the pay and conditions of  most employees and is likely to trigger a fall in wages that will further depress living standards of most Greeks, perhaps pushing them back to levels not seen since the 80's. I do not know the outcome of the vote nor do I particularly care as the result is a forgone conclusion and in the final analysis the decision is not in the hands of elected officials in Athens but rather those of  technocrats in the IMF, European Commission and the European Central Bank. What the ruling PASOK government cares to call the outcome of the vote is merely window dressing and should not be confused with anything resembling democratic process.

However, away from the parliamentary puppet theatre the country today is set to come to a standstill as trade unions in the public and private sector have declared a general strike for today. Trains, buses, planes are  not running and much of Greece's infrastructure has shut down for the durqtion. Across the country people are gathering to take part in protest marches and demonstrations as I write this, angry and disappointed by their rulers.

I will be on the streets trying to take photographs and video of today's events and will be providing updates whenever I have internet access and time. To follow the events on Twitter use the #imfgr hastag. Most of it will be in Greek, of course but Google Translate does a good job of rendering Greek into English and other languages. Alternatively, you could use the following Greek words in your search engines and then translate.

ΑΠΕΡΓΙΑ (STRIKE)

ΕΛΛΑΔΑ (GREECE)

ΑΘΗΝΑ (ATHENS)

ΠΟΡΕΙΑ (MARCH)

Surviving Financial Attack - The Official IMF User's Guide

Surviving Financial Attack - The Official IMF Survival Guide, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

ΠΑΣΟΚ - ΔΝΤ: I love you.

ΠΑΣΟΚ ΔΝΤ, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Το σήμα "PASOK" είναι εμπορικό σήμα της "International Monetary Fund" (εφεξής "ΔΝΤ").Μην χρησιμοποιείτε κανένα εμπορικό σήμα του PASOK κατά κανέναν τρόπο που εκφράζει ή υπονοεί σχέση με την εταιρεία Panhellenic Socialist Movement Greece, χορηγία, υποστήριξη, πιστοποίηση ή έγκριση. Μην χρησιμοποιείτε κανένα Panhellenic Socialist Movement Greece εμπορικό σήμα του κατά τρόπον που υποδηλώνει ότι η εταιρεία συνδέεται νομικά με την εταιρεία σας. Πρέπει να προβάλλετε της εταιρική σας επωνυμία πιο έντονα από οποιοδήποτε εμπορικό σήμα του PASOK σε όλα τα υλικά.

Greece and the Neo - Orwellians

 

"And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth."

Unlike the pontiffs of old Greek prime minister Giorgos Papandreou seems able to be an unlikely follower of the dogma of papal infallibility in which a move from one theological/ideological position to its exact opposite can be achieved without having erred in either case. On 23rd May Papandreou stated categorically to El Pais that Athens would not ask for its mountain of debt to be restructured, a position he repeated in a BBC interview in September and on 16th November to El Figaro, going so far as to say such a move would be a "disaster for Greeks".

Yet just last week the IMF/EU/ECB decided to extend the payment schedule for Greece's bailout out package from five to 11 years and this is now being hailed by the government and much of the media as a kiss of life for the country. It's interesting to see how the state run channels and pro-government TV stations such as MEGA, Skai and Antenna have promoted this latest change of heart without the slightest reference to previous government statements which held that such policies were not in the nation's interest.

In a repelling way it is fascinating to see how the ideas George Orwell espoused in 1984 are still revelent is a seemingly democratic regime with a free press. The truth, however, is the press in Greece is neither free nor independent but rather beholden to powerful political and economic interests which limit the parameters of what is acceptable in terms of political discussion. One only has to compare the rough ride given Ireland's ruling politicians following their bailout with the servile treatment of their Greek counterparts by local media. In many repects its hard to tell the difference between the official government line and that taken by the reporters who are covering domestic political matters.

The reality of the matter is that the press have sided with those in power in the hope of persuading ordinary Greeks that the massive social and economic dislocation they are suffering is inevitable and that any possible protests against PASOK's austerity measures are futile and anti-productive. This may, indeed by the case, but the stiffling of free and open debate about the options Greece has in the face of the current economic crisis is both dangerous and short sighted as it is steadily undermining respect for the government and democratic institutions in general.

The Machine is dead. Long live the Machine. Is it the end of business as usual in Greek politics?

Greece's political machine grinds to a halt, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

For the best part of four decades the two major parties in Greece have relied upon their ability to provide jobs in the public sector as a means of winning public support and elections. For many “a place in the sun” as a civil service job is called in Greece has been a powerful motivator since such positions offer far more security, better pay and conditions than in the private sector where low wages and flagrant abuse of labour legislation are now the norm.

In the past when the economy was growing at rates that made Athens the toast of the European Union Greek governments were happy to ignore such abuses as employees could easily find work elsewhere and the State could easily fund the ever growing number of people on the public payroll. However, with access to cheap credit seemingly at an end and the IMF and EU breathing down its neck for cuts the country is about to undergo radical changes that will not only alter the nature of its economy but also the relationship between rulers and ruled.

Greece's creditors are insisting on a massive reduction in the size of the state and in particular has demanded that for every new hiring, five public sector workers leave. Given the size of the civil service in relation to the rest of the economy this involves a severe jolt to the labour market and is likely to lead to even higher unemployment as the private sector is also shrinking at an unprecedented rate and will not be able to absorb the tens of thousands of new job seekers. This, in turn will push down wages and purchasing power for those employed so further worsening the government's economic position as more businesses close and tax revenues plummet.

In the long term the inability of the ruling party to offer incentives to its supporters in the form of jobs will lead to a breakdown in the network of patron – client relations which is the lifeblood of the modern Greek political system. Whether nominally socialist or conservative the two largest parties, PASOK and New Democracy which have dominated parliament since 1974 have regularly used power to reward followers with state jobs.

While the leader of the right wing New Democracy, Kostas Karamanlis may have promised to reform the state and cut public spending his party followed the internal logic of the system and added employees to the public payroll on an unprecedented scale.

Similarly, while the socialist PASOK vowed to improve public services the reality was that while those working in the education and health rose steadily the quality of services offered dropped to the point that whilst the country had one of the worst school systems in Europe it employs four times the number of educators working in Finland, home to the world's highest ranking schools .

At first glance such moves may seem contradictory but they fit in perfectly with the logic of a political caste that despite marching under different ideological flags differ little in terms of day to day policy. The job of the ruler is to stay in power and once you understand that and leave aside political lablels everything else starts to make sense. If you cannot reward followers then the well oiled party machinery that can deliver votes quickly starts to break down.

The problem is that there are no longer jobs or contracts to hand out. The insistence of the IMF/EU/ECB troika has seen to that by standing tough despite Papandreou's claims that the new austerity measures will not lead to more civil service job losses. However, this hasn't stopped PASOK, state run TV channels and the government's supporters in the media in general from pushing the line that some will still be hired.

In the recent vote the PASOK candidate for the position of Mayor in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city committed himself to creating 50,000 new jobs. This at a time when Papandreou has been forced to cut 40,000 places. Even then the government NET news spoke of 8,000 new openings but failed to mention  that any “new” positions created will, in fact be filled by people transferring from other sectors of the civil service.

As the reality of the situation filters down you are likely to see a fragmentation of the party political scene as party members and functionaries jump ship either to join other parties or quit politics all together. The record low turn out in the latest local elections is just a symptom of this sea change in public life and is likely to intensify as the crisis worsens as Athens sits by on the sidelines unable to influence an economic policy decided upon in Brussels, Frankfurt and Washington.

Already Dora Bakoyianni, who was until last year a contender for the leadership of New Democracy has created a new party with the aim of challenging her former colleagues for the centre right vote. Such moves are likely to be replicated in PASOK if MPs and cabinet ministers fall out with the leadership or see that the party is doomed at the polls.

Does this means that the political scene is about to change for good? Probably not in the short term if the tactics and strategies displayed during November's local elections are anything to go by. Too many of the major parties' nomenclature are wedded to the present sysytem which has brought them power and personal wealth for decades to give it up without a fight. Instead they will keep on down the same road but with fewer and fewer resources to back up their promises. In the place of a corrupt, mismanaged political system which costs hundreds of billions you will have a corrupt, mismanged one that runs on far less money.

"Our job is to report the news, not fabricate it. That's the government's job."

In my last post I talked about the role of the media and especially TV in presenting the consequences of the current economic crisis in Greece. I was particularly scathing of the role of the state run channels and the pro - government private stations in their efforts to distort the effects of the IMF/EU mandated austerity measures and present whatever PASOK party does in the best possible light.

Yesterday representatives of the IMF, EU commission and the European Central Bank held a press conference setting out the terms of the next installment of bailout money and outlining what the Greek government had and had not achieved in terms of reducing public spending and raising tax revenue. Considering the recommendations presented are set to change the whole of the Greek economy and involves massive upheavals, wage cuts and job losses  you would think that coverage of the event by the Greek press would be intense. Instead not one station broadcast the conference live and limited their reporting to short snippets which included luke warm praise by the troika of Greeec'e efforts so far. This was the line that was presented by most of the TV news bulletins along with prononouncements by experts that Greece had no choice but to accept such changes.

Instead there was extensive live reporting of a routine visit by a the head of the Cypriot republic which was attended by the prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou. Rather than reporting live a story which is set to effect the vast majority of the Greek population the media chose to focus attention on a mundane diplomatic story. As I said before the government and its supporters in the private sector are desperately trying to hide the fact that despite all the rhetoric about protecting jobs and living standards the ruling PASOK party have been forced time and time again to back down and accept everything the country's creditors have put forward.At the same time they have been required to engage in Orwellian feats of linguistic gymnastics in which cuts are called readjustmenst and savage criticsm termed positive feedback. In fact anything that covers the truth that the country is bankrupt and no longer responsible for virtually any aspect of economic policy.

 Indeed the IMF, EU and ECB by timing their report on Greece till after the country's recent elections (out of 27 EU countries, only Greece's report was delayed) you could argue that they have directly involved themselves in national politics. If the current measures which were inspired by the Eurostat's report on the economy had been announced on 27th October as happened with every other EU member) there is a good chance that Giorgos Papandeou's party would have suffered massive defeat and the country would be in the run up to national elections as has happened in Ireland.

The quote in the post's title is originally from V For Vendetta.

Financial crisis and the media: The failure of the Fourth Estate in Greece

As seen on TV., originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

It hardly comes as a surprise that the Greek media is less than impartial and that each part has its own line when it comes to political and financial issues. In the UK the fact that the Telegraph is a strong supporter of the Conservatives or the The Guardian has a left wing bent comes as a surprise to no one. Indeed this is one of the reasons readers choose one rather than the other. Here in Greece the same holds for TV stations as well as newspapers, though sometimes in less obvious ways as the nightly news bulletins aspire to respectability through trying to appear objective in their presentation of the day's events.

However, this veneer of objectivity has started to wear even thinner as the effects of Greece's economic crisis grow ever more apparent and the authorities desperately try to balance the demands of the country's creditors for cuts and reforms with a population deeply unhappy with the current state of affairs. This is most easily seen in the state run channels such as NET, ET1 and ET3 which nightly have a running commentary which is virtually indistinguishable from the official party line and like South Korea's “sunshine policy” attempts to avoid confrontation with government officials and present their policies in the best possible light. In other words spinning the administration's spin still further till the resulting story resembles something drafted by a Soviet era Pravda editorial team.

Case in point has been the visit to Athens by the IMF, EU, ECB trioka in order to negotiate the terms of Greece's next installment of the country's bailout package. The fact that the payment had been delayed was initially attributed by both the ERT news agency and the government to technical difficulties, which clashed with stories running in both Associated Press and Deutsche Welle that reported that the delay had been caused by the Austrian finance minister, Josef Proell threat to withhold his country's contribution to the bailout fund if Greece did not fulfill its obligation to raise more tax revenues. Other Greek media outlets did mention the news once it came out in the international press but even today there is no mention of Austria's role in the current negotiations in the state run ERT online news service .

In addition the recent government split between prime minister Giorgos Papandreou and employment minister Louka Katseli over whether Greece should accept the Trioka's demands for more flexible employment legislation and the abolition of industry wide contracts has been either underplayed or ignored. The disagreement between the minister and creditor's has threatened to derail talks over the terms and conditions of the multi – billion loan, yet today ERT top domestic news story is that foreign minister, Dimitris Droutsas has warned Turkey that failure to remove troops from Northern Cyprus will affect it EU application bid.

Unable to hide the fact that negotiations with the EU and IMF are not going as planned the government and it supporters in the media are attempting to divert attention elsewhere, preferably towards an external “enemy” in order to look tough on national issues. The reality is that such smoke and mirrors cannot hide the fact the Papandreou will almost certainly be forced to backtrack on pre -election promises not to implement further austerity measures further undermining his standing within the ruling PASOK party and the electorate in general.

It's also measure of how much the troika – Katseli affair has spooked the government and their media allies that the pro – government Skai TV channel news commentators were frantically demanding the minister return to the back benches and not disrupt talks that threaten to shipwreck the country. Such partisan statements in news bulletins means that even the pretense of neutrality is being dumped in a last ditch attempt to persuade viewers that Athens is in charge of the situation and not attempting to play a terrible hand of poker with all its cards on show.

Far away from the glare of the TV studio lights the majority of Greeks have written off both the media and the government convinced that neither can be trusted and that vital decisions concerning the future are no longer in the hands of their elected officials. With businesses closing at an ever faster rate and yet more VAT and tax hikes the reality of the situation is that Greece's future is grim and this can no longer be hidden. Despite almost Orwellian attempts by the seven state run outlets to call wage cuts, “readjustments” and the crisis an “opportunity” people are no longer listening to this daily diet of spin, evasion and PR hot air.

There is, however, still much to be learned from ERT (Greece's answer to the BBC) presentation of the news if one looks deep enough. Like sovietologists of old poring over the latest copy of Pravda there is a lot to be gleaned in the choice and order of news items. The first few items often give an insight into what PR line is being promoted which in turn allows the careful observer to understand what the authorities are most worried about. Hence last weeks triumphant headlines that Greece had secured the third tranche of cash from the EU was an indicator that there were doubts that over if the money would indeed be paid.

Similarly today's revanchist statements by the foreign minister is a fairly strong indicator that Papandreou's government is in deep trouble and is looking to create a diversion. Not that we will find out this from NET, ET1 etc but most likely from a TV station or newspaper supported by the opposition or more plausibly foreign media such as the BBC or Reuters. 

To understand why the local media is so bad and getting to the truth you have to understand the close, almost incestuous relationship between journalists and politicians. For the media news IS party politics, sometimes to the exclusion of virtually everything else and that access to sources is worth all kinds of compromises. This is not just a Greek phenomenon but the fact the mainstream political parties are able to reward the "right kind" of coverage with lucrative positions as "consultants" or even candidates in local and national elections means that many reporters do not bite the hand that feeds them.

Nor is the situation in the private sector much better as TV stations and other news outlets are owned by very rich men who use them as a way of gaining leverage with the state by supporting or criticising politicians and parties in order to win lucrative state contracts or to derail legislation not in their interest. In such an environment the Fourth Estate is simply a tool to be used to sway public opinion and so apply pressure when needed. 

On rare occasions where journalists do show integrity the cost is their livelihood as documentary film maker Stelios Koulaglou found out to his cost when he aired a documentary on the state run NET channel on unemployment critical of the then ruling New Democracy government. The result was  his instant dismissal and the end of a well respected TV series Reportage Horis Synora (Reporting Without Borders), which had been running since 1996 and had four times been awarded Best news Programme of the Year.

Greek authorities take no chances on the eve of Polytechniou Day

Riot police break up protest march in Thessaloniki, Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

It seems that the Greek nation has finally accepted the inevitable and got on board with the austerity package demanded by the country's creditors. It must be true since the prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou said so during his speech after the results of Sundays local elections. So did IMF head Dominique Strauss Kahn in an interview on French radio when he said that the victory of the ruling PASOk party showed that Greek had understood the need for change.

What both leaders choose to ignore was the enormous drop in turnout by Greek voters, in some cases 50% less than in previous elections in 2006 and the growing dislocation between the country's ruled and rulers. While both major parties made some gains the overall trend is one of ever intensifying disenchantment with the current political system. Less an endorsment of the country's politicians than an understanding that the country no longer controls its destiny, no matter which party is nominally in charge.

Tomorrow marks the 37th anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising which set in motion a chain of events that led to the overthrow of the military dictatorship that had siezed power in 1967. Every year students and others march in Greece's major cities in commemoration of those who died to restore freedom and democracy. The day is often used as a platform by political groups to demonstrate against unpopular government policies. This year's anniversary is likely to repeat this tradition and the presence of 7000 additional police officers in the centre of the capital is testiment to how worried the government is about the marches turning into something more violent.

Already there have been clashes in Athens between youths and the police around the university of Athens campus the scene of many of the violent confrontations during the 2008 uprising which caused billions of euros worth of damage.

Polytechniou day as it is known in Greece will prove to be an acid test over whether young Greeks in particular have accepted the massive cuts in public spending and job losses proposed by the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF.

Given the anger and frustration felt by much of the population over the continued economic crisis there is a very real possibility that a miscalculation by the authorities could have drastic consequences.

For more on last year's 17th November events click here.

News from the front

Lost archives, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

This week has proven to be an unending litany of disappointments and bad news as far as the Greek economy is concerned. Wherever you look in the media the news keeps on getting worse and worse. Unemployment figures for August show that the official rate has reached 12.2% and is set to rise still further as thousands of small business close down every month.

Also the long awaited government deficit figures proved to be just as bad as everyone predicted with the official figure set to go from 13 to 15.5% of GNP in 2009. Eurostat will make public the final figures on Monday, just one day after the polls close.

This came at the same time as newspapers reported that Athens attempts to raise tax revenues were in deep trouble, plagued with technical problems and organisational confusion. Instead of the predicted 700 million euro addition to state coffers, just 40 million has so far been found. With the economy shrinking at an unprecedented rate (down 4.5 % in the third quarter) businesses and professionals are refusing or resisting payment of what is widely considered to be an arbitary and unjust attempt by the government to grab whatever revenue it can.

Higher than expected debt levels combined with a falling tax revenues mean that finance minister Giorgos Papakonstantinos will have to cut spending even further if Greece is to meet the goals set down by the IMF, EU and European Central Bank. While prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou has repeatedly said that there will be no new austerity measures, few even in his own party are convinced that he will be able to convince Greece's lenders to renegotiate terms, no matter how unpopular the measures have become.

Beyond the numbers the reality of the situation is that ordinary Greeks are being hammered by the effects of the changes which have hit the vulnerable hardest and left the richest relatively untouched. People are being called upon to make impossible choices; Can we pay the electricity bill AND the motgage this month? What comes first; car insurance or new clothes for the kids?

Fear of what the future is almost palable with worry and anxiety drawn on people's faces as they queue in the supermarket or ride the bus. In cafes the talk is more often than not about money, or rather the lack of it. In Greece with its weak social safety net the family still serves as a buffer against the worst, yet even that institution is struggling to seal with the worst economic figures since the 50's. If the situation does not change in the near future even family may not be enough to get people through.

Perhaps the worst aspect of the pesent situation is the awful feeling that there seems to be no end to present financial woes. There is the fear that the future offers nothing and that all that lies ahead is more poverty and stagnation. This view is particularly stronge amongst the young who are suffereing the worst in terms of unemployment with 1 in 3 of 15-24 year olds unemployed and only a small minority employed in jobs that match their qualifications.

In 2008 the whole country went up in flames following the shooting of a 15 year old by police in central Athens, the violence and duration of the unrest were fuelled in large part by the anger and frustration felt by young Greeks over the nation's dire economic situation and disgust at a political system in which corruption, nepotism and patron client relations stiffle development and lavishly reward mediocrity and incompetence.

Since then the situation has grown so bad that 2008 can almost be considered part of a golden agewhen work, even though badly paid and unrewarding was at least available.

Will Greece go to the polls in December? The elections no one wants to win.

Greek elections 2007, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

In contrast to previous years the run up to the local elections in November is a lacklustre affair without the usual frenzy of electioneering that marks Greek politics. In the streets few people are particularly riveted by the choices on offer and despite a concerted effort by the media to inject drama into the event many have turned their back on politicians, and instead are concerned with more immediate worries such as paying the bills and making ends meet.

No one in the present political set up, either on the left or the right set up has been able to turn an intense feeling of voter dissatisfaction into concrete electoral support. Obviously, the great loser in all this is the centre left PASOK party led by prime minister Giorgos Papandreou whose popularity has nose dived in the wake of the austerity measures imposed at the behest of the EU, ECB, IMF troika. However, the main opposition party, the conservative New Democracy has been unable to made much headway in the polls tainted as they are by their role in the country's economic meltdown. Even their newly elected leader Antonis Samaras's populist rhetoric has failed to convince many other than the party faithful.

On the other hand smaller parties of the left and right of the two main parties are also struggling to generate voter interest. On the far right LAOS, led by Giorgos Karatzaferis has failed to poach votes from New Democracy in the numbers it was expecting, the result, in part of its parliamentary support of the PASOK in passing the legislation and measures demanded by Greece's lenders.

Nor is the picture much better on the left with people wary of the Greek Communist party's old school ideological stance and its unwavering allegiance to the state run socialist economic model favoured by the Soviet Union in its heyday. The other reformist left wing coalitions languish in the polls, internally divided and struggling to get their message across in the media.

Underlying the growing indifference of Greek voters to the choices on offer is the realisations that whoever is in power their ability to change the present economic climate is limited as virtually all major economic decisions taken have to be okayed in Brussels, Strasburg and Washington. In addition an even deeper feeling of distrust of those in power comes from the deeply rooted idea that the country's rules are above the law and so free to abuse their position. This is hardly a new innovation and one that is central to modern Greek mindset but what has changed is the fact that the political caste's greed and incompetence has brought the nation to the edge of the abyss and so is no longer considered the acceptable price of getting things done.

Such extreme notions are reinforced by parliament's handling of recent corruption and bribery scandals involving the cases such asVatopedi Monestary, Siemens and the 2004 Athens Olympic games. These are just a few of the dozens of scandals that have racked Athens over the last few years and yet despite endless investigations not one politician has been convicted of a single misdemeanor, let alone spent time in jail. Many ordinary Greeks have come to the conclusion that whoever is in power, nothing will change and that once in charge the first priority of politicians is to line their own and their family's pockets at the expense of everyone else.

Given such cynicism and anger political analysts and leaders both left and right are worried about how this backlash will effect the vote in November and how the political landscape will be changed. Already the prime minister has warned that a major defeat for his party may result in the country going the polls again in a round new parliamentary elections. The national daily, Nea also published reports that Papandreou is considering a snap election as soon as December 12th in such an eventuality.

For Papandreou and many others the November elections are in reality a referendum on the bailout package and should his party lose badly that would require his government seek a new popular mandate. On the other hand political commentators have interpreted his words as political blackmail, a high stakes bluff aimed at getting reticent PASOK voters to the polls. If so, the costs of such a strategy are high indeed with the world's money markets jittery over the prospect of a change in government in Athens. Over the week Greek CDS's soaring once again above 800 points reflecting the financial world's unease at the prospect of a vote.

If Greece does go to the polls in December, both Papandreou and Samaras face the same dilemma that whoever wins is in no position to change the basic parameters of the current bailout deal and therefore will be associated in the popular imagination with job losses, painful spending cuts and a severe economic downturn.

The trick will be how to run a credible campaign yet not win, a feat the previous New Democracy leader, Kostas Karamanlis pulled off during his lukewarm campaign in 2009. Faced with immediate financial meltdown Karamanlis called early elections is September much to the annoyance of members of the party who wanted to wait till Spring 2010. However, they were unaware of just how dire the country's finances were and that by running early and losing New Democracy would still remain a coherent political force that could present itself as a credible alternative to PASOK once they had dealt with the financial mess at huge political cost.

Like the card game Black Maria in which the aim is to foist the Queen of Spades unto your opponent both main parties are supposedly gearing up to slug it out at the polls whilst secertly hoping that they will not have the misfortune to be in power.

Greek PM's press conference fails to convince voters

Greek prime minister, Giorgos Papandeou (left) leaving the St Demetrios cathedral - Thessaloniki, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Last night Greek prime minister took part in a Q & A session with journalists from the country's largest TV stations. The decision to organise such an event in the run up to the local elections in November was criticised by opposition parties who consider that the Papandreou is campaigning on behalf of his beleaguered PASOK party who have been trailing in the polls, affected by the harsh austerity measures that have seen living standards plummet as job losses, higher taxes and galloping inflation have combined to make for a perfect storm for those on lower incomes such as the unemployed and pensioners.

The harsh new economic reality facing Greeks can be seen in a slew of reports that show that many household are now struggling to pay basics such as power and phone bills. The state run electricity board says that 1 in 4 bills are overdue whilst the OTE telecommunications corporation has 500,000 unpaid accounts to deal with. Even in Greater Athens area, which one of richer parts of the nation 1 in 11 are receiving food handouts via breadlines according to research carried out by the Athens University of Economics recently. In Greece's second city, Thessaloniki, home to over a million nearly half the population is living on either savings or loans whilst another 40% say that they can barely make ends meet.



Even consumption of basics such as bread has dropped by 30% whilst other areas of the economy such as real estate and car sales have ground to a virtual halt. The Greek chamber of commerce says that 4,000 small businesses are closing every month with thousands more being added to unemployment figures.

With such a bleak outlook Giorgos Papandreou decided to hold a press conference to set out his party's policies and to explain to the nation what he believes has to be done to save Greece from bankruptcy.

The interview which was carried out by seven journalists lasted two hours and was followed by millions of viewers nationwide. In the first round journalists were allowed to ask one question and one follow up. A recipe which allowed the PM plenty of wiggle room and produced a predictably sonorific result as Papandreou was free to simply set out party positions that have long been made clear in previous briefings. While the questions were hard hitting, the lack of follow up meant they were easily sidestepped with waffle and set speeches.

The second half of the interview proved more interesting with reporters able to pursue points made and get the prime minister to do more than simple PR.



However,the basic tenet of Papandreou's message remained the same that the current crisis was the results of years of fiscal mismanagement that the previous New Democracy administration had failed to take seriously and that if Greece did not have any other choice but to implement the painful measures set down by the EU and IMF. He also made it clear that his government sees the forthcoming elections as a referendum on the measures intimating that if PASOK suffered a serious defeat then this would be seen as a loss of the popular mandate necessitating national elections in the near future.

For Papandreou the choice is clear; either accept the cuts in public services and wages set out or vote for the opposition New Democracy party led by Antonis Samaras whose brand of populist rhetoric is full of heat and passion but light on concrete proposals on exactly how different his right of centre party would deal with a 400 billion debt load without severe cuts in public spending or higher taxation.



Yet despite growing dissatisfaction with both major parties it seems business as usual with both sides making lavish promises to voter in order to persuade people to support them. The ruling PASOK party has vowed to help local income families and farmer with extra funds before the end of the year, though where exactly the money is coming from is unclear especially with so many employees of the state run organisations and pensioners who have been waiting months to be paid. Next week heating oil distributors have threatened to suspend deliveries from 1st November in protest over delays over the return of tax payments promised earlier. Likewise hospital report running low on basic supplies after pharmacutical companies stopped taking new order until the government pays outstanding debts, some going back years.

However, the 600lb gorilla in the room is the possibility of still harsher cuts when Eurostat revises Greek debt figures for 2009. The organisation delayed publishing figures citing the need for more time to untangle Greece's often tangled web of public spending statistics until 15th November just after the second round of local elections. This has been seen in many quarters are an attempt not to upset PASOK's election chances still further with more bad news. On the one hand Papandreou has stated on a number of occasions that there will be no further measures for wage earners and pensioners whilst European Commissioner Olli Rehn has made it clear that higher than expected debt load will mean more sacrifices on the part of Greece in 2011.

Attending celebrations in Thessaloniki today Giorgos Papandreou was met with boos and jeers by some worshippers outside the Saint Demetrios cathedral and was quickly whisked inside the building with church bells ringing in order cover the sounds of protests from TV crews covering the event. Hundreds of riot police were also on duty in the surrounding area ready to keep disgruntled state employees at a safe distance while people shouting anti-government slogans were swiftly confronted by uniformed and plain clothes officers in the crowd.

Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΜΠΟΡΕΙ - GREECE CAN

Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΜΠΟΡΕΙ - GREECE CAN, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Debt kills - International Monetary Fund Special Tactics Division

Debt kills - IMF, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The world gets a new super hero - IMF Man

The world gets a new super hero - IMF Man, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Step aside Superman, give it up Spiderman, Batman, time to hang up the cape. There is a new kid on the block - IMF Man.

Able to destroy large economies with a single leap in interest rates, IMF Man is here is here to save the world from depravity and unwarranted public spending. See him crush trade unions with the swish of a pen and bail out out the entire banking system single - handed.

Bitten by a radioactive coackroach when young mild mannered Dominque Strauss - Kahn is a mild mannered finance specialist by day but by night he is a neo-liberal super hero fighting the evils of deficit spending wherever they rear their ugly head.

The Greek economic crisis's 600lb gorilla in the room

IMF - What "Internal Devaluation" really means for Greece., originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

I'm sure than you have that old medical joke, "the operation was a success but the the patient died" a thousand times but I can't help but recall it when I see on the state - run ET1 and NET news bulletins reports of how quietly optimistic the IMF/EU/ECB are about the progress Athens has been making in implementing the economic reforms needed before they approve the latest installment of the bailout package.

However, nowhere in the constant round of self - congratulation and back slapping are you going to hear anything about the issue that is most worrying to Greeks, namely unemployment. Currently, the official figure is 570,000 or 11.7% however, behind these numbers hide some truely horrifying facts. In some areas such as the Attiki region and Ionian islands the number of those looking for work has risen by up 50% in just one year. According to the latest OECD predictions unemployment is set to reach nearly 15% in 2014 whilst the Greek Trade Union Conference or GSEE (ΓΣΕΕ) is talking about a million jobless by next year out of a total labour force of 5 million.

Even this figure may be an underestimate since unemployment figures only include those signing on, which does not include many of those who have been unemployed more than one year who are considered to be "economically inactive" rather than unemployed or simply do not bother signing on as their benefits have run out. Nor are those working in the black economy (tourism and construction and even education are rife with employers who refuse to pay contributions) without national insurance who cannot claim unemployment benefit.

No provision has been made by the government for the tremendous social disruption likely to be caused by having one in five or even one in four of the work force unemployed, a number which is going to be higher if you happen to be a woman, disabled, under 25 or over 50. No mention was made of unemployment in the joint European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF upbeat press announcement concerning Greece's latest installment of the bailout package.

It's hard to consider any economic plan which produces joblessness on a scale not seen since the Great Depression as a success, yet that is exactly what the Greek government representatives and their supporters in much of the media are trying to do. There seems little awareness of the degree of social dislocation unemployment of such a scale is bound to produce. instead we are feed a steady diet of statistics and projections which are based on economic modela which do not take into account the conditions on the ground nor the fact that many official economic indicators are little more than educated guesses, the product of a state apparatus that does not even know how many people it employs.

On the other hand whilst hundreds of thousands of pensioners face cuts in their incomes to get permssion to borrow 9 billion euros the Greek government has found 25 billion to give to banks in order to improve their credit worthiness, which in addition to the 26 billion given in 2008 amounts to 15% of GDP or nearly four times the amount Greece spends on education per annum

NB the picture is NOT real but a piece of photoshopped fun. Just a reminder for those who had their sense of humour removed instead of tonsils when young.

Fighting the IMF

IMF Chaos and poverty world tour T-shirt

IMF Chaos and poverty world tour T-shirt, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"We are often told that the poor are grateful for charity. Some of them are, no doubt, but the best amongst the poor are never grateful. They are ungrateful, discontented, disobedient, and rebellious"

Oscar Wilde

Greek truckers' strike bites harder

Greek truckers' strike bites harder, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The latest round of talks this morning between leaders of Greece's truck drivers associations and the government failed to find common ground and so the industrial action which is likely to see the country ground to a halt in the next few days is set to continue.

The dispute was the result of attempts by Athens to liberalise Greece's transport market by opening up the trucking profession to everyone with a heavy goods licence and so doing away with the existing permit system which has meant that like taxis, only those registered can operate.

On the one hand the opening up the profession is part of the IMF/EU/ECB process of making Greek products more competetive by reducing transport costs however, drivers associations argue that the sudden implementation of the system means that many of their members stand to lose hundreds of thousands of euros spent obtaining an operating licence.

Instead of petering out strike actions are set to escalate as Greek international truck drivers associations are also preparing to join the strike so threatening imports and exports to other EU countries.

The Greek media has been speculating on whether the government will be forced to bring in the army to make sure the country does not run out of fuel and other basic goods.

Repent of your debts - Time is running out. IMF

Repent of your debts - Time is running out. IMF, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.