The successful outcome of the negotiations in Brussels leads to certain conclusions which may be relevant to the timely parable of the prodigal son and the rules that inform the relations of the big and the small in the world.
Let us start with a historic observation. In 1965, the triumphant new Prime Minister of Greece, Georgios Papandreou, also referred to as the “Old Man”, flew out to Washington after being invited by US President Lyndon Johnson. Washington had decided to get the Greek Prime Minister into direct contact with his Turkish counterpart Ismet Inonu, with the three of them (Johnson, Papandreou and Inonu) sitting down together in order to solve the Cypriot dispute.
The Greek Prime Minister strongly refused to meet with Inonu, despite the intense pressure from the Americans.
Furthermore, during the flight over to Washington, Papandreou used caustic humor when asked by journalist Giorgos Drosos why he refused to meet Inonu: “Giorgos, my son, he is old, he is deaf and he is… short!”
When he returned from Washington, Papandreou received a secret letter from the ambassador in Washington at the time Alexandros Matsas, who wrote about how his presence in Washington generated huge enthusiasm amongst the Greek diaspora and admiration in diplomatic circles over his resistance against the pressure from the White House and as such, the defeat of the Americans. Big powers, after all, never accept their defeat.
Coincidentally, not a year went by and Papandreou was overthrown… This is indicative of the way the West has dealt with its domestic affairs. This does not mean that something similar could happen in our times. The Greek government achieved a significant victory in Brussels and obviously has Shakespeare in mind: “I know he would not be a wolf, but that he sees the Romans are but sheep”. The change of attitude amongst suggests that even in our days, the parable of the Prodigal son is also relevant.
The hardliners of the European Union were quick to embrace the “prodigal son” – with Mrs. Merkel being and who even interrupted her proud strut to salute the lost sheep that proved to not be a lamb, according to Shakespeare.
Stavros P. Psycharis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
