It’s funny how we all used to believe that one of the core values if not The Core Value of Europe was a dedication to Democracy. It’s funny how so many people fought and died for these values, both in wars and revolutions. We were all so terribly misguided of course. Democracy is no longer a European Value. Oh no, it is anathema to the Great European Project right now.

In  the current edition of The London Review of Books Slavoj Zizek has written an excellent piece on Europe and the Greeks entitled “Save us from the saviours”, reiterating a sentiment that has been going round in Greece for a while now. Zizek describes the erosion of Democracy, how the only elections tolerated are those that do not represent a real choice, as between centre left and centre right parties who will do exactly as they are told whoever is elected. The panic over the Greek elections has arisen because this time there is a real choice.

The unelected, irresponsible, very well paid (and I expect untaxed) so called President of the EU Herman Van Rompuy has struck again. Precisely for the reasons described by Zizek. The Greek election is dangerous!!! What if they don’t return the usual subservient, submissive government? What if they dare challenge The Frau’s omniscience and her commandments set in stone?

This can NEVER be allowed to happen! So out trots Mr “Who are you?”, as most aptly dubbed by Nigel Farage, and threatens the Greek people on the eve of the run up election that if they don’t vote the right way they wont get any more money and will be left to starve to death and die on the streets in droves! (Failing to point out, however, that that will be their fate anyway if they continue with The Frau’s evil policy of economic destruction.)

I would like to close with Zizek’s closing paragraph: “Greece is not an exception. It is one of the main testing grounds for a new socio-economic model of potentially unlimited application: a depoliticised technocracy in which bankers and other experts are allowed to demolish democracy. By saving Greece from its so-called saviours, we also save Europe itself.” (my bold print).

And with a little video of one of Nigel Farage’s speeches in the EP which has turned out to be very prophetic. And he is right. We do not want this German dominated Europe. And yes, our parents and grandparents fought and died to prevent this.

In today’s extremely volatile circumstances France achieved a significant success. It sold a range of bonds at its lowest borrowing costs during the Euro era. No mean feat I would say.

Hollande has already begun reversing some of Sarkozy’s vicious austerity concerning pensions and is pushing for change in Merkel’s destructive recession inducing policies by at least insisting on a plan for growth which has been anathema to The Frau throughout.

Now lets go back to pre election France. What were we being told? If Hollande wins, the markets will turn on him, borrowing rates will soar and eventually all hell will break loose! Well it didn’t happen that way. And not because Hollande back peddled on his election pledges either. Quite the contrary. However what is the verdict from the dogmatic neoliberal free marketeers?

We are told by the Guardian today that “analysts” (high priests of dogma more likely) are worried that “record low yields could encourage Hollande to stick with a looser fiscal policy.” How terrible! How horrific! But isn’t the core belief that “Markets always know best”? Why suggest the markets are getting it wrong this time? Because their verdict has gone against your pet policies of screwing the people?

And at the same time, why are these champions of the Free Market so desperate for Central Bank intervention either in the Eurozone or the US? Surely, orthodox capitalism dictates that if a business, be this a shoe factory or a bank, fails, it should be allowed to go bust because those are the rules of the game.

But then what else do we need to realise that all this Nonsense Economics that is slowly but surely bringing the world economy to its knees is based on bigoted, vicious dogma and not any any notion of any kind of economics.

After two and half years of dithering, fudging, kicking the can down the road, mismanaging, imposing a rigid, ineffective antediluvian austerity policy, the EU has final screeched to a halt in front of the make it or break it point. What everyone knew from the beginning but no one dared even say openly, finally has to be dealt with. In a hurry. If there is to be a monetary union it can no longer continue in this distorted way. There has to be fiscal union, banking union, above all perhaps “cultural” union as Warren Buffet has put it.

Angela Merkel’s total mismanagement of the crisis has done a great disservice to the prospects of a proper European Union. Apart from her Nonsense Economics based on dogmatic rigidity, her modus operandi has been perhaps fatal to any hope of building the cultural union required for such a project to succeed.

She has thrown her weight around, acted like the schoolyard bully and perhaps worse of all played to her gallery. That is she has used a populism to lure and dupe her own voters in Germany and created bad will and hostility all around. To the German electorate she has presented Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean countries as lazy, good for nothing profligate parasites.

She has lied to her electorate consistently making them believe that these infamous and destructive ‘bailouts’ were direct hand outs, perhaps even gifts, from the German taxpayer to the profligate Greeks who do nothing but sit in the sun all day while the Germans work their buts off.  She has consistently failed to admit that this has all been a nice little earner for Germany, she has failed to explain that the German surpluses were only achieved owing to the Euro enabling the southerners to buy so many German products and so on.

On the other hand, the so called bail out policies have been imposed in such a heavy handed insensitive way, making the people least responsible for the mess bleed most, that it is not surprising that ill will and animosity has spread throughout the peoples of Europe.

The Greeks identify all things German with the Nazi occupiers of the war, the Germans think of the Greeks as subhuman leeches and so on. Angela Merkel has undermined the very basis on which any European Union could be formed. This has to change drastically if there is any hope ahead. Unfortunately such mending takes time and that is one thing the EU no longer has since The Frau managed to squander it all together with any goodwill there was.

And since things are pressing and ideas are being hurriedly bandied about, we must not forget (as we are currently doing) that no such union can ever be based on anything but full democracy. Otherwise it will just become another German Empire. So it is all very well saying we must proceed with fiscal union and an integration of the banking sector and all countries must now surrender their sovereignty to Brussels, even for defence matters and so on, but “Brussels” has yet to be defined.

If by Brussels we mean the Merkel led directorate of unelected unaccountable spineless Eurocrats currently running the show, then that will never work. And another matter of paramount importance is, when we say “fiscal integration” and that Brussels will be the one to decide on budgets, are we implying that there is also no choice in what kind of policy we, the people of Europe want?

Are we implying that we all have to sign up to the neo liberal Chicago School ideal of no welfare! No labour rights! Growing economic inequality and so on? This is what “Brussels” under The Frau’s iron boot is imposing. This is in fact the recession inducing policy that has brought Europe to its knees and is threatening to tear it asunder.

If Europe is to integrate properly it can only do so in a democratic way. That is we cannot start by fiscal integration if we have not defined what kind of integration we want. More deregulation for banks say, or the preservation of European values and rights that have been gained through revolutions and blood?

This is not something that can be left to unaccountable politicians playing the populist game to their own electorate while ignoring everyone else. We cannot start by surrendering sovereignty to Brussels like a blank check, letting them impose a dastardly neoliberal policy on the whole of Europe and then wonder why the continent has burst out in flames again. If integration is to succeed it cannot be done by bits and pieces. This is after all what got Europe into the soup in the first place.

First  we’ll set up a monetary union which we know can’t work without fiscal union but we’ll see about that later on. Well it is later on right now and that kind of wishy washy, bit by bit policy cannot work anymore. 

It is make or break time and before we surrender anything to “Brussels” we must ensure that “Brussels” is defined by the will of Europe’s peoples. The European Parliament must become the seat of all power. The EP must be the body that elects and controls the Commission. And of course there must be debate and voting on what kind of Europe do we want? What is our top priority? The welfare of our peoples or the welfare of the financial wizards, say?

In the climate of hostility and ill will between the peoples of Europe spawned by Mme Merkel this will be a tough goal to achieve, but a necessary one.

Without full democratic integration of Europe there can never be any other kind.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Till you look at the initial ideas. First all member states cede sovereignty to Brussels, then we all get our deficits down and comply with the German obsession of fiscal rectitude, then perhaps, maybe, we might fudge something by giving a few extra powers to the European Parliament. But that is a minor detail we may address in about a decade or so.

Whoops! In other words forget about the democratic deficit. Forget about democracy all together. And who, in the meantime will be calling all the shots? Brussels. And what is Brussels? A bunch of blinkered appointed Eurocrats who do what The Frau says. And remain unaccountable to anyone!

Somehow going completely bust and reverting to the drachma doesn’t sound as horrific any more!

Ian Traynor in his article in the Guardian today tells us: “Joschka Fischer, the former German Foreign Minister, warned that his country was at risk of destroying itself and Europe for a third time in a century, and gave Merkel just a few months to change course […..]  ‘Germany [Fischer wrote in his article] destroyed itself -and the European order- twice in the 20th century. It would be both tragic and ironic if a restored Germany by peaceful means and with the best of intentions, brought about the ruin of the European order a third time.‘”

This is something that has been playing on a great many minds, but it is the first time, to my knowledge, that the fear has been expressed by a German politician. Furthermore, Fischer also agrees with Soros that there are only a few months left to deal with the crisis. In other words, no more kicking the can down the road! It is too early to judge yet, but the ideas for Uniting Europe with a 10 year time span ahead can’t help sounding ominously like The Frau’s delaying tactics yet again.

Finally, “it would be both tragic and ironic” he says if Germany destroys Europe for a third time! Tragic, ironic, catastrophic. All Greek words.

Hubris, Nemesis, Catharsis.

George Soros, is the man who broke the bank… not in Monte Carlo but, in a way, the Bank of England! Well he may not quite have broken the Bank of England, it would take more than that, David Cameron please note, but he did give it quite a jolt.

Anyhow, Mr Soros has now predicted the outcome of the Greek Elections. He says the conservative New Democracy party, bound by the personal signature of its leader to carry out every single term of the so called bail out agreement, shall win the election. Albeit by a small margin, because the Greek electorate has been terrified out of its wits. And that after that Angela Merkel will only have three months at her disposal to save the Euro.

He may very well be right. It is perfectly true that every last stop is being pulled to terrify the Greeks and force them into submission, much as happened in Ireland. Of course they did have one great big scare tactic in Ireland that they cannot use here in Greece. That is the threat that if you don’t vote the way we demand, you will turn into another Greece!!!

Ha, ha, that one they cannot use on us!!! Mind you they are telling us we will be instantly propelled back into the stone age. And to a certain extent terrorization has worked and is working. Though in defence of the Irish it is only fair to point out that only half the electorate bothered to go and vote at all. Hardly surprising since whenever they have expressed themselves negatively towards EU dictates they have been sent back again and again till they get it right.

So perhaps this was not so much the triumph of blackmail and terrorization as it was of mere weariness. Why bother? In any case it was not a resounding endorsement.

Now, with regard to Soros’ prediction, though he is probably right about the outcome of the Greek election, personally I wouldn’t go as far as betting on it. But as to his three month estimate there is no doubt in my mind that he is exactly right. Unless it is not even three months.

I would say that a New Democracy led government might just make it to three months, whereupon it won’t just collapse but it will do so in a very bloody heap. But that’s not the only part of the equation. There is Spain, even Italy and the persistence, above all of The Frau’s Nonsense Economics leading us all straight into perdition.

There are some mumbles about needing growth, for what they are worth, even more noises about turning the fiscal stability pact into a full blown fiscal union, and sending all those unable to reach targets straight to court and fines and other such vindictive Teutonic remedies.

We are being told that these brilliant ideas for saving the Euro will be presented at the end of June summit. However, there are some interesting ideas being bandied about such as increasing the powers of the European Parliament, making the Commission answerable to it, and things like that, all of which would be very welcome, if they were being made in good faith.

But we are being told that the flesh on the bones of these skeleton ideas will be put on gradually throughout the second half of 2012. To me this stinks dangerously of another little delaying tactic by The Frau. Just another instance of choosing to kick the can down the road in order to avoid dealing with anything. If so, and I hope I am wrong, these skeleton plans will only lead to the skeleton of the defunct Euro that will have passed away owing to lack of intelligence and the almighty preponderance of dogma.

But remember, George Soros has only given you three months to save the Euro, provided the election in Greece goes the way you think you want it. But do be careful what you wish for mien Frau. It just might come true!

It is perfectly obvious that the Nonsense Economics imposed by The Frau and others simply has not worked. It is obvious that austerity uber alles is a death sentence. And a slow lingering death at that too. It is obvious that only people who are insane, insensitive, stupid, blind or suffering from blinkered dogmatism would persist with such an obnoxious but above all ineffective, not to say catastrophic, policy.

And yet, these nice people seem to have dug themselves in. No, no, no! We are right! You must cut your deficits by decreasing your production and reducing demand as much as you can. Oh really? As to seeing this isn’t working? Well, they shrug it off, it WILL work, eventually, it’s just that you are all not doing it right.

In and article by Yani Varoufakis and Joseph Halevi entitled Italy’s Own Goal the writers point out how Italy (especially under The Frau’s hand picked technocrat) has been all gung ho over “water-boarding” as they aptly put it, Greece Portugal and Spain. However, as a result Italy has scored an own goal. The trade balance between Italy and Greece used to be 5 – 1in Italy’s favour and has now shrunk to 2 – 1. Which might sound good for Greece only that this has not resulted from increased productivity in Greece but from the collapse of the Greek economy.

As they point out, were Greece to be nuked into total destruction then she would no longer have a deficit at all. Would that be deemed a success? I hate to think it, but I’m sure The Frau would count this as a resounding success. Nevertheless, Italy, for all her smug, I am with the big boys attitude, is due to come into some water-boarding herself very soon. And losing exports is no way to pay off her own enormous debt either.

Another article clearly outlining what is going on is Will Hutton’s: The facts are clear: This cruel austerity experiment has failed. The battle lines have been drawn up, the right wing free marketeers on one side and on the other? No, not the looney left but moderate human intelligence as expressed by Keynes. Will Hutton tells us “Today we can see an almost laboratory experiment on a global scale of why Keynes was right and his detractors wrong“.

At least the consensus seems to be breaking. Whereas no one dared challenge The Frau’s Nonsense Economics, now an opposition is beginning to form. Battle lines are being drawn between the forces of Greed and Inhumanity on the one hand, and Social Responsibility and Economic Sense on the other. However, it will be a battle, a war, things may have to get a lot worse before the forces of pure evil are vanquished.

Nevertheless, if Greece was a ticking time bomb, Spain is a nuclear threat. For the moment Spain appears reluctant to bow her head to The Frau’s iron will and submit herself to water-boarding. The Frau and her ex side kick did everything they could to keep kicking the can down the road to gain time while refusing to impose anything that made any sense.

Germany’s policy was is and remains, heads I win tails you lose. I shall gain but shall give nothing and you will lose and give me everything. It never worked, it isn’t working and it cannot work. But we’re in for the show down. The only thing we can do perhaps not only here in Europe but all over the world is shout

Help!

As is well known, though perhaps receding into forgetfulness by now, the infamous Bin Laden began as a warrior against the Communist invasion of Afghanistan, financed by the US, for obvious reasons. In other words he was in the pay of the US fighting a war sponsored by the US against Communism. The rest of the story we do remember. How the religious fanaticism the US tapped into when recruiting him to support their interests, turned against them resulting in Al Qaida and the destruction of the twin towers in New York.

So what has this all got to do with Angela Merkel…. Well… though not a religious fanatic (well, if you take her Protestant/Calvinist view of the world out of the equation that is) she is most definitely a Deutscheland Uber Alles fanatic. No one can have any doubt about that any more.

Little Angela grew up and was educated in that hard core communist country East Germany. As far as we know she didn’t do any rebelling against the regime or anything like that. She studied Physics like a good obedient student, and if at the time she did have objections to the regime and its ideology she kept them to herself.

Nevertheless, once the wall and all that had come safely crumbling down she presented herself as a champion of  the Right, Free Market Economics, attached herself to Helmut Kohl as his prot?g?e (stabbing him in the back later, to further her glorious career).

Anyway, here was a model hero, heroine, of the Free World (note Free World with Free Market Economics should NEVER be confused because they are a contradiction in terms). In this light and this guise she was obviously a good candidate for Chancellor of Germany. A role model. A secret right winger who had survived the communist regime and was now leading her re united country under the banner of Free Market Capitalism.

However, little Angela never got over two things, it would appear. Firstly her dogmatic, intransigent, inflexible approach to things, no doubt a feature her communist upbringing instilled in her, and her Deutscheland Uber Alles fanaticism.

While it was merely a question of screwing the Greeks and sending them all to hell it didn’t really matter, because the propaganda (a skill also acquired in East Germany) disseminated, portrayed the Greeks as profligate, corrupt, lazy and only getting their just deserts.

Now, however, that it is becoming more and more obvious that little Angela’s childhood dream of a strong Germany taking over Europe is really what her Nonsense Economics plan is all about, things are beginning to look differently. In her attempts to achieve her dream she is risking the collapse of the whole Euro Zone and even the European Union which she has already hijacked and to which she has appointed or condoned suitable docile nonentities such as Jose Manuel Barroso, Herman Van Rombuy and dear old spluttering Olli Rehn to name but three.

And this might be all very well, except that her illusions de grandeur and hegemonic antics are putting the whole world economy at risk and perhaps above all that of the US. She has, in effect, done a Bin Laden on them. Her fanaticism has driven her in a direction not only unacceptable to the US (and the world) but positively inimical to it (and the world).

Can we hope for a the US cavalry to come charging in and save us from brutal German domination and oppression?

Well, if so, it will hardly be the first time. In fact it will be the third within the span of a century. Third time lucky, lets hope!