I am not a believer in conspiracy theories. Perhaps above all because it is believed that the evil plans drawn up by a handful of men in a dark and smokey room to rule the world, actually work. Which is not to say that some kind of a conspiracy is not attempted, but simply that even the best laid plans have a tendency of going really wrong.
Which appears to be what is happening in the EU today. Two aspects of this. The Frau’s brainwave of a plan for fiscal rectitude which has given even more power to the unelected and irresponsible commissioners to automatically penalize states that do not reduce their deficit to 3% next year.
This is nothing but more of her Nonsense Economics. The EU is already in recession. What can we do to push it further down the recessionary path? So is this all an evil conspiracy for the EU to turn into the German Reich with its lebensraum? If it is, it’s going to back fire. The Netherlands are already feeling the heat of this Nonsense idea. And The Netherlands are among Germany’s closest allies against the profligate south.
In my sensible, rational mode I would say that The Frau’s policy is not really dictated by a warped conspiracy to rule Europe and then the world! No I would say it was the result of limited intelligence, dogmatic inflexibility, stubborn pig headedness, fear of a ghost (hyperinflation) and perhaps above all the arrogance from someone drunk with unexpected power.
But then we read something like Reuters Insight: Europe Treads a Thin Line on Greece and you begin to wonder again. The desperate attempts of trying to meddle in the democratic process of a member state because, of course, the electorate must toe the line and must not be allowed to deviate or even object, to a policy that has already ruined their economy, and is set to grind it well into the ground if continued as designed by the IMF/EU troika.
Among the various heavy handed attempts to influence the Greek election we also have a comment by Barroso to the effect that if you don’t toe the line you will be thrown to oblivion. An unhelpful remark and one more likely to antagonise the Greek voter rather than persuade him to continue down the path to ruin.
However, the article tells us that Barroso did not intend to make such a harsh comment but that “He only did so because he got a call from Greece’s caretaker Prime Minister, Loukas Papdemos, asking him to do so, a Commission official said.“
Whoops and double whoops. The gentleman in question was Vice President of the ECB, and was appointed Technocrat Prime Minister to “negotiate” the terms of the new bail out. After Papandreou’s catastrophic handling of the crisis, everyone had great expectations. Till we saw his government. 50 Ministers, the whole of the Greek government that had already failed so miserably with a few more nonentities added to make a show of some kind of coalition.
As to the Minister of Finances, Papademos kept on Evangelos Venizelos who hasn’t a clue how an economy works, who blusters but never acts, who did nothing at all in his tenure up till then, allowing the economy to go from bad to worse and who slapped the exorbitant property tax on electricity bills which was the final nail in the coffin of the Greek economy. But obviously someone who would have no idea how the “negotiations” were really going and still less what this agreement was all about. A perfect choice for Papademos? Well most certainly if we believe in Conspiracy Theories.
And what did Papademos end up doing in the great negotiation? He pushed through terms that were totally toxic for Greece and the Greek economy, signed away any rights to her assets that Greece might have, abolished all labour laws and slashed wages in the private sector which was already moribund. In order to pass this despicable unconditional surrender of Greece, he went on television to paint a terrifying picture of doom and hunger and a return to the stone age, should Parliament not vote for his wretched achievement.
And now he is caught phoning Barroso secretly and telling him to lay on the scare tactics again so as to terrify the Greeks into voting the way he wants, that is pursuing this policy of attrition. By 2020 you may have reached the debt/GDP ratio of 2009 but anyway, you are going to have to live in a state of permanent austerity till at least 2040. And lovely things like that.
Can you blame people for believing in Conspiracy Theories when such dastardly actions come to light?
But don’t forget, even the best laid plans have a tendency of going terribly wrong. Of course, it’s not the “conspirators” like Mr Papademos that will pay for this but the Greek people. So let them vote what they hell they like! If they are facing ruin anyway, they should at least be allowed to chose their own way to go! And besides. We are a very impatient people. We can’t wait till 2040 for complete ruin!
P.S. This goes for the other people’s of Europe too. I dare say they have their own Papademoses working against them as well.