Brief history of the Greek Crisis

and why it was never a “crisis”

1830-2010

some common sense to start with

• Greek crisis is not an economic crisis. Greece is a wealthy PLACE with strategic position, good climate, cultural heritage and huge natural recourses

• Greek crisis is not actually even a crisis, even if it is told so..

• The crisis in the history of the modern Greek State. Greece was and is NOT as other the western European states, and Europeans DID KNOW THAT…

So lets check the Greek State political history and society evolution in parallel

Political facts GREECE social status

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GREECE JUST AFTER ITS LIBERATION FROM THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1830)

POLITICAL FACTS

Families with power from the Ottoman Age still rule the Greek territory

Greek Church was the only internal institution at that time that survived

Greeks murdered the 1st state Governor, Diplomat Ioannis Capodistrias

Great Powers have to send a king to the new kingdom (Otto)

British bankers finance political leaders of Greece

SOCIAL STATUS

Greeks used to hide their wealth from the Ottoman state in order NOT to pay taxes

Greeks rely on the agricultural section and the first structure of the state appears.

Greeks live with Arvanites -Albanians that are left after the Ottoman occupation

Germans –Bavarian Regents of Otto actually formed the new born State

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EUROPEAN KINGS AND GREECE

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POLITICAL FACTS

King Otto later loved Greece and gives the First Constitution (1843)

Crete, Thessaly and Macedonia are still under the Ottoman Rule. Greeks believe in the liberation of these Greek populated areas and nationalism prevails with the King Otto support.

SOCIAL STATUS

Greece has to build a new common cultural identity that will unite all different social population in the region

Greek society is poor and based in agriculture

Military and church consist of the main social structure

GREEK NATIONALISM

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POLITICAL FACTS

Britain gives Ionian islands as a gift for King George (1862)

New Constitution (1863)

Families prevail in the political system - Nationalism is promoted

First bankruptcy in 1893

Greece lost Greco Turkish wars of 1897, 1899

Venizelos rules as a political figure

Greece enrolls the Balkan wars, WWI and is getting larger

SOCIAL STATUS

In the period 1890-1914, almost a sixth of the population of Greece emigrated, mostly to the United States and Egypt.

Greece is still an agricultural society, having exports in currants, raisins and tobacco.

Some Greeks grew rich as ship owners and merchants

Little education in rural areas

Olympic games of 1896 in Athens

GREECE IN WARS AGAIN

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POLITICAL FACTS

Catastrophe of Smyrna (Izmir) and political instability (1922)

Right winged parties and regimes drive the country in the WW II

Civil War after the liberation from the Nazis (1944-1949)

Greece joins NATO (1952)

Political instability and non governance of the country

SOCIAL STATUS

Greece has now more ethnic Greek population than ever

Refugees are productive people that boost economy

During the Civil War Greek rural areas are being devastated. Greece is a very poor state after the wars.

In the 1950’s Greek economic miracle happens

MILITARY RULES GREECE

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POLITICAL FACTS

Military junta rules Greece (1967)

King is being exiled from Greece since then

Mass protests against the junta with the students in Athens (1973)

Junta’s regime ends with the invasion of Turkey in Cyprus (1974)

SOCIAL STATUS

Second wave of emigration mainly between 1950 and 1974. Most emigrated to Western Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia

Agriculture is protected and pushed

Tourism and construction are also developed

Greece’s growth averaged 7% between 1950 and 1973, a rate second only to Japan's during the same period

Rise of anti right wing feelings

GREECE AFTER THE JUNTA- 3RD GREEK DEMOCRACY

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POLITICAL FACTS

Karamanlis comes to Greece after the end of junta regime

Greece was not a Kingdom anymore

New constitution (1975)

Greece joins EU as the 10th member, with Karamanlis initiative

SOCIAL STATUS

Official statistics show that in the period 1955-1973 Germany absorbed 603,300 Greek migrants, Australia 170,700, the US 124,000, and Canada 80,200. Between 1974 and 1985, almost half of the emigrants of the post-war period had returned to Greece. 

Greece is still agricultural economy, but many Greeks have came to major cities.

Growth of tourism industry

THE LEFT “PASOK” ERA

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POLITICAL FACTS

Left wing PASOK wins the elections. His leader, Andreas Papandreou is a son of Greece ex Prime Minister and Professor of Economics in the States.

The PASOK members are young people that were in the Athens Polytechnic Uprising (1973)

PASOK overrules these 20 years with a small pause of Right wing Nea Dimokratia party (1990-1993)

Families that ruled during the Ottoman Age, still rule the country

SOCIAL STATUS

Greeks are being massively employed in the public sector from their political leaders

Greece is being given European funding for joining the EU that are used for cliental purposes

In Greece there is miracle- everybody is new- rich- everybody is happy, no one cares about the future

Greeks have stopped producing because of the European money directly given to them

GREECE AFTER EURO (NOT EURO 2004)

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POLITICAL FACTS

Descendents of families still control the decision system

Karamanlis nephew, becomes a prime minister in 2004.

Athens 2004 Olympic Games take place

No vision is being given to the country

Wildfires bring elections

2009 Son of Andreas Papandreou after winning the elections announces that Greece is a sinking ship

SOCIAL STATUS

Greece joins EURO

Greeks work for 2004 with huge loans that are unknown

After 2004 there is a “gap” in the economy, having no real vision

Banks are a key player to the Greek society

Greek economy is starting to decline

Young people have no jobs

Unemployment rate starts to rise seriously

TODAY

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POLITICAL FACTS

The young people that were in the Athens Polytechnic Uprising (1973) are still the ministers. Outdated.

Young people are NOWHERE in the production, either in the political system.

People need vision and no one can give it to them

Politicians still speak the same, as they used 30 years ago

Its a DEAD END, and only the politicians want EU support, the rest don’t

There are no serious political representatives

SOCIAL STATUS

People have starting to realize what happened

Families support the system

Greek society is now an educated society

People do not care about the next day any more, they are afraid of now and today

Everybody is angry with the politicians, because there are no jobs in the market

Lets see the history highlights

Greeks used to hide their wealth from the Ottoman state in order NOT to pay taxes

Military and church consist of the main social structureFirst bankruptcy in 1893 Some Greeks grew rich as ship owners and merchants Catastrophe of Smyrna (Izmir) and political instability

(1922)Military junta rules Greece (1967)Junta’s regime ends with the invasion of Turkey in

Cyprus (1974)Greece joins EU as the 10th member, with Karamanlis

initiative Left wing PASOK wins the elections (1981) Greeks are being massively employed in the public

sector from their political leaders (1981-today)In Greece there is miracle- everybody is new- rich-

everybody is happy, no one cares about the future

Conclusions

Greeks have not learnt to cooperate with their state. They just see it as an income provider, an income have also to hide it. This is why Greece has double economy (with Romania and Bulgaria- ex Ottoman areas). Greeks have also learnt to spend and forgot to produce.

Old existing mentality is the problem.

Some more facts

• In Greece rule the same app. 30 families for the last 200 years

• Political leaders in Greece have been fed with European loans before 1830 from British bankers and with public money since today

• There is no real market in Greece, politicians find jobs to voters, and there is no clear legislative framework

• Greek State was for so many decades the major client of companies

• Greece has all natural resources, but Greeks have lack of education and proper mentality for managing them

• Money speculations do not solve the problem, on the contrary, they make it bigger.

Is that a “crisis”?

Well I don’t think so.

And why did this happen?

You can think by yourself who is gaining (and what)

from this situation…

Just watch the GLOBAL news!!