Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010
Opening old wounds
The Telegraph: Greek rescue in danger as deputy prime minister attacks 'Nazi' Germany
Chants of "burn the banks" are a foretaste of tensions once austerity measures bite in earnest later this year.
Theodoros Pangalos, deputy prime minister, said Germany had no right to reproach Greece for anything after it devastated the country under the Nazi occupation, which left 300,000 dead. "They took away the gold that was in the Bank of Greece, and they never gave it back.
One banker said the situation was surreal. "How can they call the Germans incompetent Nazis and still expect a bail-out?"
Posted by devo @ 09:44 PM (2720 views) Add Comment
21 Comments
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1. quiet guy said...
The Greeks were happy enough to work with 'nazis' when they adopted the Euro.
This must be the saddest post of the day.
2. devo said...
This must be the saddest post of the day.
indeed. it's a (greek) tragedy
3. devo said...
Did the Germans steal Greece's gold and fail to return it after the war, or did the deputy prime minister make it up?
4. enuii said...
I'm sure the first thing the Germans did on occupation was to remove all bullion from the vaults as they did all over Europe, if I am right a good proportion of it is still missing.
5. devo said...
Audit the Germans!
6. Tw11 said...
I can't believe the Deputy Prime minister is using such emotive language. It's all falling apart. This just doesn't look good.
7. rumble said...
Is there some rule about how far back we can go? What about the Romans?
8. devo said...
what romans?
9. Penny said...
The telegraph article failed to mention that the Greeks were deeply offended by the extreme front cover of the German magazine "Focus" depicting the Venus of Milos (a famous greek statue) making an obscene gesture and with the title "cheats of Europe". Although I believe the Greek deputy prime minister has over-reacted in his comments, Greeks are emotional people and feel they have become the target of the world media. And all this in the middle of a harsh austerity programme.
10. greenshootsandleaves said...
It's always nice to see a paper such as the telegraph trying, day by day and in its own small way, to help Greece find a solution to its current problems.
11. paul said...
We are witnessing the EU disintegrate before our eyes. Jokes aside, this is really rather serious.
12. Dagenhamdave said...
The dastardly Hun, it's all his fault of course!
13. vacuouspolitician said...
...deeply disturbing.
14. rumble said...
These Romans.
15. devo said...
11. rumble said... These Romans.
italy's army isn't quite so formidable nowadays
nor is germany's for that matter
16. devo said...
Denninger...
The EU has backed itself into an untenable corner. If Greece truly cheated on getting into the union - that is, there was no conspiracy, there was no knowledge in Brussels what was going on, they truly pulled the wool over everyone's eyes and lied their way in, then the proper action is for the EU to expel them and ban every bank involved (including Goldman) from ever doing business with the EU again.
But if the EU knew about it and played "bubblenomics" then they have a bigger problem because there's Spain, and Portugal, and perhaps Italy involved in this mess too.
There's roughly EUR $3 trillion in PIIGS debt involved here all-in, and I don't think the ECB or the EU is up to trying to stomach that, never mind that the Eastern European states aren't exactly stable from a fiscal perspective either.
http://market-ticker.org/archives/2004-How-To-Win-Friends-And-Influence-People-NOT!.html
17. alan_540 said...
Or maybe it was just a gamble that didn't pay off - the EU hoped that it could guide Greece in the right direction economically as part of the great EU block of countries. But... bad times hit and it now appears that they're unwilling to stump up the cash - maybe 'cos they're spending it already supporting their own economies. If Greece does fall, I wonder who will be next on the list...
18. rumble said...
So how far back in time can the blame game be played?
19. mken said...
the Brits and the Tiger of Mysore
20. icarus said...
18 - and look what the Greeks did at Troy. The towers were reduced to rubble and corpses were heaped in the streets.....kites and vultures wheeling above the smoke and dust.....women swaying to and fro in an ecstasy of grief, crying out the names of the dead and chanting dirges (That's enough pillaging - ed.)
21. braindeed said...
icarus @20
The towers were reduced to rubble and corpses were heaped in the streets.....kites and vultures wheeling above the smoke and dust.....women swaying to and fro in an ecstasy of grief, crying out the names of the dead and chanting dirges
Sounds like Dagenham