After so many adventures, the Greek people can now realize that there is no way to avoid the major burden of the prolonged crisis.
The voters have tried everything, they have moved with ease from one end of the political extreme to the other, to no avail.
Promises were forgotten, hope was lost, the heroic negotiations turned out to be futile and pointless, everything in the past six years was disproved, resulting each time in a bailout program.
Now it appears that the fourth one is right around the corner!
In order for the “proudest” and most “heroic” negotiation – according to certain naïve people – negotiation of Mr. Tsipras to achieve a rudimentary result, it will have to accept a memorandum of prior actions with the “despicable” and “undesirable” International Monetary Find, which our government, by the way, was touting that it was going to get rid of, any time now!
Truth be told, the Greek political class has failed monumentally in managing the major financial crisis.
We have note time and time again that Kostas Karamanlis chose to bailout out of everything via the elections, as soon as he realized the magnitude and intensity of the problem.
Giorgos Papandreou clearly lacked the proper understanding of the crisis and fell victim to his promises.
Antonis Samaras was overswept by his desire to win first and then cling on to power.
And Alexis Tsipras was literally overwhelmed by the delusions and myths that the Left had constructed about the economy and the people, in its effort to dominate.
When he truly came face to face with the crisis, he was shocked to his core.
The dramatic events of the first six months last year are well-known, as are the major consequences that the Greek people experienced.
Unfortunately, guided by the same myths and lacking the necessary preparation and actions, Mr. Tsipras wasted another major opportunity after winning the elections in September last year.
When the whole of Europe expected him to make the leap to exit the crisis, he opted once again for a policy of delays and procrastination. And now, at the eleventh hour, he is struggling for an unsure and uncertain agreement.
Of course the people know that in the present world there is no way out with a generous adjustment, capable of reinstating Greece among the credible and fundable countries.
The Greek people know that with a long-term effort, Greece will suffer more, will lose and will be lost.
That is why they prefer to cease dealing with public affairs and act privately, rather than sit around with their arms crossed, waiting to be rescued by sorcerers and self-appointed saviors.
Antonis Karakousis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
