The concept of “Greek-Turkish friendship” always struck us as incongruous, to say the least. The history between the two countries is so against any sprouting of “friendship” that the crowing of the “pragmatist” community in Greece -- i.e. those Greeks who would rather defend Turkey than their own country in the interest of “peace” -- strikes us as borderline treason.
Dr. George Vardangalos
(Electrical and Computer Engineer, Independent IT & Business Consultant)
Copyright: www.rieas.gr
Introduction
The EU Summit on 8-9 December 2011 has finished. It was decided that Eurozone countries will aim to finalize by March a new treaty that imposes more central control over national budgets. The treaty will set out stricter rules for a “fiscal compact”.
RIEAS participated in a workshop on Greek-Israeli Security Relations in Tel-Aviv University on 24 November 2011.
A summary of the workshop panels is provided:
First Panel
Prof. Alex Bligh: What we are facing today – mass upheavals, Iranian threat, deteriorating relations with Turkey, issues over natural gas, prospects of more democracy/stability in the future Middle East. Meanwhile, we must encourage growing relations between Greece and Israel on the economic, security, and academic levels. Today's meeting is intentionally closed and formed as a small group, keeping in mind that a natural goal of anyone who has worked in the government is to successfully affect decision-makers.
Recent years have demonstrated more than enough Greece’s political leadership vacuum. Beginning with prime ministers, and driving all the way down to “lower echelons,” “leaders” have been prominent primarily by their inability… to lead (!) and their noted shortcomings in presenting those expecting to be led with a “blueprint” or a “plan” on how we may progress to the next stage, whatever that stage may be.
When in 2004 George Papandreou assumed the leadership of the Pasok socialist party, founded by his father in 1974, insiders applauded -- but also quietly worried.
Everybody knew that “Giorgaki” (the Greek diminutive of ‘George’) was a real nice guy but no leader at all.
Everybody knew that Giorgaki was getting the baton because of his last name, not because he was the leader demanded by the times.
Everybody knew that the “prince” of Pasok was entitled, by God’s given right, to lead from the front and take Pasok to victory.
(AFTER THE REFERENDUM THAT NEVER WAS)
What happened to the referendum? It just disappeared!
In actuality, there was no real intention to hold a plebiscite -- but Greece’s European “partners” could not decipher Papandreou’s chaotic political bluffing on time. They took him at his word and when he arrived in Cannes to report to Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, he was taken to the political woodshed and given a thorough thrashing. On returning home, with international media heaping more untold abuse on Greece the Aberrant, Papandreou announced with a straight face that, no, there would be no referendum because the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party had announced in the meantime that it would agree to in effect endorse the latest Troika genocidal austerity package. Papandreou further told his cabinet that the reason he proclaimed the referendum (an announcement that sent markets tumbling and spread fear and loathing across Europe as all scurried to take cover from a Greek contagion) was to effectively browbeat the opposition into displaying “consensus” -- that is to say, approval of the demolition job on Greece he and his cabinet of automatons are currently undertaking on contract with the Troika.