PLAYING WITH FIRE

The decision of Greek P.M. George Papandreou to submit the EU Recue plan of Greek debt to a referendum is almost suicidal and hard to understand coming from a man in difficulties but considered a gentleman. He has set in motion events which could accumulate and cause a major crisis in Europe and worldwide. It is almost irresponsible to risk such lethal consequences. He might very well lose the majority in his own parliament. If not, he certainly has already lost the trust and patience of his EU colleagues and the Caes G20 meeting might very well renew the pressure on Greece, whose behavior puts the financial world on fire. If the rescue plan were to fail, Greece will become a “pariah” which can no longer claim Euro membership. One could foresee major consequences: internal unrest, external developments (Cyprus) and last but not least the EU membership. Globalization will function as a brushfire and we might end up facing a global meltdown.

In the EU, the Franco-German axis will not take lightly this “volte-face” of the Greek PM who took the decision without early-warning. This Greek “gift” could become a time-bomb if the member states and the Commission cannot stop this unfortunate initiative which is a cover-up for internal political calculation and frankly unworthy of statesmanship. The Greek P.M. has taken the risk of ending up with a failed state, a street revolution, and a world economy in shambles. With one gesture he has turned the ambulance into a house on fire. I fear that few will forgive him, while they themselves become hostages to an unwise political, provincial decision. The irony is that the innocents will once again have to come to the rescue if they do not want to see southern Europe go up in flames. The smoke will spare no one and will reach from Beijing to Wall Street, from Delhi to Sao Paolo. Mr. Papandreou’s torch might have far reaching consequences. People were worried, now the seven billion might become angry as well.

Mario Draghi, new president of the European Central Bank, got on his first day in office a hellish taste of what a Greek welcome implies.