Given the capitulation on the part of the Greeks, I would have thought Frau Fuhrer might have rolled out the latest from Chemin de Fer to make it official. The girl drives a hard bargain and for the life of me I can't really understand why unless it has all to do with domestic German politics for to be sure, anything that gets signed will be for all intents and purposes meaningless in six months if not less.
Poor old Tsipras got his brains beat in which is probably nothing as compared to what's going to happen when he stands up in front of parliament tomorrow. He won his referendum--that perhaps he thought he was going to lose--left town claiming that he had a far stronger negotiating position and folded like a cheap suit. Varoufakis's game theory proved to be just that...a game...and one with a stacked deck. The moment the Euros began openly talking about about a Grexit it was all over but the shouting and I am told there was a good deal of that as well. As an aside, a clearer picture of the Rock Star's departure showed he and his wife on a...you guessed it...A BMW motorcycle! Get in a fight with the Germans and drive off on a $50,000 motor made in Bavaria?! How dumb are you! Well, at least he'll never to be seen again except on speaking tour where it is reported that he is about to make a bundle. Oh well, a fool and his money...
All kidding aside, was the pounding the Greeks took really necessary? I understand that this is about the third or fourth time that have been bailed out; they lied about their finances to get in (thank you Goldman Sachs) and they have been absurdly dumb and useless throughout the entire process, but if you are the German government, why do you make it so easy for the press...who were always sympathetic to the plight of the long-suffering Greeks--to portray you as Germans? History may well not be kind. To stiffen the deal when the Greeks had no real alternative AND when the more harsh terms are not going to make a bit of difference to improving Greece's future AND when at some point the VOLK are going to take it in the neck anyway AND when you know perfectly well that this is all true, makes no sense to me. Give them the old deal and admonish them for wasting a week. As for Chrissy blabbering at the last minute about the need for debt forgiveness...just tell her to shut up and go away. You don't have to appear tough just because she gets paid first. Honest to goodness, it just seems to me that the IMF involvement just makes it harder for everyone else. In the old days when there were no stabilization funds around they were the only source of new money, but today...
Then there was the "enormous pressure" as the NY Times put in from Il Duce and Jacob/Jack on Frau Merkel last week. That had a hell of an effect, didn't it? There was a time when the suggestions of the United States carried enormous weight; no more. There are very legitimate global concerns regarding the future of the EU upon which the U.S. could well comment, and whilst I am no fan of this administration I think it is fair to say that a great nation cannot pick its spots as to where it chooses to lead out front or from behind. The result of such a policy is as seen.
A final comment. There are a number of things in this Package that the Greeks will certainly have to do if they are to have any chance of succeeding as a modern nation in the 21st. Century and it is upon those that one hopes will be the focus. But for the rest...as a Berliner might say, "Alles ist mir wurst."
For that, was all this necessary? Then again, Angie isn't a Berliner is she?
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