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June 27, 2015 8:30 pm
Greece must be saved from political, economic and social collapse
Tony Barber
This may be the first step backwards in the harmonious integration of Europe, writes Tony Barber
The leaders of Germany and France offered to release billions in frozen aid on Friday in a last-minute push to talk Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras into contentious pension reforms in exchange for filling Athens' empty coffers until November. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis©Reuters
In spite of the recklessness of its radical leftist-led government, in spite of the failures of the political classes that have misruled the nation since the return of democracy in 1974, in spite of the chronic clientelism and corruption of the state, in spite of the selfishness of its business oligarchies and in spite of the unerring capacity of its foreign creditors to miss the big picture, Greece must today be saved from political, economic and social collapse.
Without such an effort, which must be led by the EU, Greece will be sucked ever more deeply into the political radicalism, economic misery, organised crime, uncontrolled migration and even outright war that characterises an arc of countries from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Balkans to Syria on the east Mediterranean coast.
It is irrelevant today to assign blame for what is shaping up as a Greek debt default and exit from the eurozone. The clock will not stop just because Greece’s eurozone partners — if “partners” is even the right word any more — have stated their patience is at an end. Greece is in south-eastern Europe, and the stability of south-eastern Europe is a matter of the highest importance to the EU and the Nato alliance.
If Plan A was to find a way of kicking the can down the road and keeping Greece in a support programme that maintained its eurozone membership, and if Plan B (now being implemented) is to protect the rest of the eurozone from Grexit, then there needs to be a Plan C. Plan C will require immediate action to prevent the implosion of the Greek economy and contain the poisonous political repercussions of the failed aid-for-reform negotiations. It will mean demonstrating to ordinary, desperately hard-pressed Greek citizens that its allies will not let down their country.
Even if these efforts achieve some success, however, let there be no doubt about the broader historical significance of what is unfolding in the Greek tragedy. It marks the first step backwards in what used to be celebrated as a steady, if sometimes wobbly, process towards the harmonious integration of Europe, a continent torn to shreds in the second world war and then divided, until 1989, into a democratic west and Soviet-controlled communist east.
The goal of harmonious European integration is now under greater threat than ever, thanks to the challenges of irregular migration, economic stagnation, Russian truculence, narrow-minded British attitudes and the appalling mishandling of the eurozone’s troubles.
But, for now, the overriding priority must be to help Greece — in or out of the eurozone.
tony.barber@ft.com
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c990f1a2-1cfe-11e5-aa5a-398b2169cf79.html#ixzz3eSZZLVdQ
June 27, 2015 8:30 pm
Greece must be saved from political, economic and social collapse
Tony Barber
This may be the first step backwards in the harmonious integration of Europe, writes Tony Barber
The leaders of Germany and France offered to release billions in frozen aid on Friday in a last-minute push to talk Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras into contentious pension reforms in exchange for filling Athens' empty coffers until November. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis©Reuters
In spite of the recklessness of its radical leftist-led government, in spite of the failures of the political classes that have misruled the nation since the return of democracy in 1974, in spite of the chronic clientelism and corruption of the state, in spite of the selfishness of its business oligarchies and in spite of the unerring capacity of its foreign creditors to miss the big picture, Greece must today be saved from political, economic and social collapse.
Without such an effort, which must be led by the EU, Greece will be sucked ever more deeply into the political radicalism, economic misery, organised crime, uncontrolled migration and even outright war that characterises an arc of countries from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Balkans to Syria on the east Mediterranean coast.
It is irrelevant today to assign blame for what is shaping up as a Greek debt default and exit from the eurozone. The clock will not stop just because Greece’s eurozone partners — if “partners” is even the right word any more — have stated their patience is at an end. Greece is in south-eastern Europe, and the stability of south-eastern Europe is a matter of the highest importance to the EU and the Nato alliance.
If Plan A was to find a way of kicking the can down the road and keeping Greece in a support programme that maintained its eurozone membership, and if Plan B (now being implemented) is to protect the rest of the eurozone from Grexit, then there needs to be a Plan C. Plan C will require immediate action to prevent the implosion of the Greek economy and contain the poisonous political repercussions of the failed aid-for-reform negotiations. It will mean demonstrating to ordinary, desperately hard-pressed Greek citizens that its allies will not let down their country.
Even if these efforts achieve some success, however, let there be no doubt about the broader historical significance of what is unfolding in the Greek tragedy. It marks the first step backwards in what used to be celebrated as a steady, if sometimes wobbly, process towards the harmonious integration of Europe, a continent torn to shreds in the second world war and then divided, until 1989, into a democratic west and Soviet-controlled communist east.
The goal of harmonious European integration is now under greater threat than ever, thanks to the challenges of irregular migration, economic stagnation, Russian truculence, narrow-minded British attitudes and the appalling mishandling of the eurozone’s troubles.
But, for now, the overriding priority must be to help Greece — in or out of the eurozone.
tony.barber@ft.com
