So push has come to shove. Poul Thomsen is kicking up a rumpus in Greece, throwing his lethal spanner in the troika’s works, in order to force their hands. Whose hands? Those of the two European prongs of the dreaded satanical troika. Why, all of a sudden? Instead of going three by three, they now go one on his own and the other two together. Has the troika snapped under the weight of its imbecility?
Well Mme Lagarde, aka Marie Antoinette has come out with it. The Greek debt is not sustainable. You don’t say Madame? What she doesn’t say is that the Greek debt is not sustainable not least because of the gruelling, idiotic regime, concocted and inspired by the IMF imposed on Greece. Plunging the country into a deep depression while piling more and more debt on it (to go to external banks and not the Greek economy) surely was not going to help, now was it?
But no, though Mme Lagarde has had the brilliance to realise that Greek debt is not sustainable, she brushes aside the why and comes up with even better remedies! There should be another haircut, to be borne by the European Official sector and the Greeks should just hurry up and give all their assets away. Pronto!
Hmmm, now. What do you think of that? The Lady is nothing if not a genius. No wonder her erstwhile best friend and partner in crime, The Frau does not seem to care much for this scheme. First of all why should the European Official sector pay and not the IMF too? Ah, Frau Merkel. Those are the rules. The IMF never pays. And you know you must stick to the rules! You can’t bend them now, can you?
Besides, did you not know the rules when you decided to call the IMF in to handle the EZ debt crisis? If you didn’t, that was your fault and there is no way a German Chancellor of any caliber can plead ignorance of the rules. You knew what you were doing. You brought the IMF in because of their “expertise” in these matters. An expertise that has lead to the complete shambles of the Eurozone. For which you are equally to blame.
Now the second prong of Marie Antoinette’s brilliant solution to the problem. Greece must sell off all her assets at rock bottom prices. At once! Now what to make of that? Well, that is what the IMF is all about. That is what the IMF program aspires to do. The IMF has one program it applies everywhere. That is, you get rid of all troublesome welfare and healthcare. You impose “flexibility” in the labour market (which means in effect that you abolish all labour rights, slash wages and try to bring the labour force as near penury and slavery as you can.)
And the main object of the exercise is that you despoil the hapless country of all its assets. So, having achieved the first prong of its program it now wants to speed up the second. But dear Christine, in a country your own policies have brought to the brink of a Grexit, how do you suppose such a fire sale can be achieved? Who is going to buy even at rock bottom prices when they know that these Euro rock bottom prices will soon become devalued drachma even lower prices?
Something didn’t work now did it? And something tells me this new little Marie Antoinette brainwave is very close to the original “Let them eat cake”. And we all know where that led.