It starts with a note of melancholy,
with the wailing and tears of the people over the fallen body of Greece. The
pains and grievances of the society, making the air dense with the echoes of such
hopelessness, that even the blunt mind of an ex-veteran military personnel who
fancies doing butt exercises in front of other people’s houses, could cut
through it… As the carcass of Greece decomposes, the putridity attracts
vultures while driving away radiance and sunshine – leaving nothing but
darkness. As the dark clouds gather to block the last bit of sunlight, the
people raise their hands to the heavens praying for hope.
As the chorus sings of this tragedy
something is heard from a distance. As the sound comes closer and closer, the
wailing starts fading, allowing the people to identify the sound to be close to
a purr of a strong engine. And then, right then, a strong burst of light rips
through the dark clouds and in dives, from the heavens, a fleet of Mercedes S500,
clad in metallic black armor that could only be owned by the war angels. The
fleet then encircled Greece’s body and parked around it, with just enough space
for one more of its kind. Then a ray of golden light poured from the heavens
and brought in a white Mercedes S500 which could only be made by the god
themselves!
The Mercedes descended, and landed in
the opening that was left. When the doors opened, the air was ridden of the
stench and was replaced by the sweet, intoxicating scents of Hugo Boss and Chanel.
Then, out stepped two angels, one dressed in what seemed to be Escada while the
other, Louis Vuitton. The people gazed in awe as these angels approached
Greece. Then, they knelt by the body of Greece, took out their cards and swiped
it on Greece. Almost instantaneously Greece was awakened with all signs of
decomposing vanished! And the people cheered the angels and merry were the
streets!... Until one nut cracker decided to point to the angels and shout
“DEMON”!
Basically that is what happened and is happening in the Eurozone today.
Although the Greeks were rejoicing when they received their “bailout”, they
didn’t seem to understand that without proper planning things could go ugly.
And the natural human reaction to that would be to blame, first Greece and then
whoever who brought it back to life. And unable to take such pressure (which is
great in many levels), Greece is deciding to leave the Eurozone. And if this
happens, the rest of the Eurozone who helped Greece in the bailout, could kiss
the thought of being paid back in full goodbye, a similar predicament that
happened during the Greek restructuring that occurred in March.
There is a lot of discomfort in the
global economic scene at this moment, namely amidst the European tax payers and
the commercial banks as the exit would generate a price tag of $625 billion.
And with the failing and destabilizing that could take place in the already
vulnerable European financial system, a domino effect would be imminent. With
credit ratings that are already riding the slippery slope, investors are almost
deeming the Eurozone unsafe for foreign investments.
With the jobless rates hitting an 11%
mark, social implications are becoming rather visible In Greece. The people
have lost hope on the government on its mismanagement of the crisis. This same
sentiment has been echoed by the whole of Europe on a geopolitical level. Even
in Netherlands and France, the economic pain is nourishing the growth of
parties on the far right and left as voters lose faith in main stream political
leaders. To be honest, this ideology would intensify if Greece were to leave
the eurozone.
But the Greek dilemma has both sides.
A Greek exit might also be good for the nation as it would allow for the
creation of its own currency. It could devalue its money thus effectively
bringing wages down to a level where the country can compete in the
international export market especially since the efforts of the eurozone seem
to be more like teaching a person who lives in the desert plains, to fish.
But if the exit happens and currency
is changes, there are VERY high possibilities that the courts around the world
would be clogged with lawsuits as Greek companies and leaders fight about
whether the contracts should be paid in Euros or the new currency. What’s more,
courts might even seize Greek assets to enforce claims, paralyzing the Greek
financial system.
Greece is not the only one that is
expected to ride the greased slippery slope, no pun intended…( It was funny in
my head though…) The world is now
worried if Spain is going to be following suit. With a population and economy 4
times greater than that of Greece, Spain’s fall might be far worse a hit to the
global economy. But I don’t foresee that happening so soon (at least from my
point of view). With the Spanish government debt at 69% of its Gross Domestic
product (GDP) it is still relatively safe in comparison with Greece that has a
debt ratio of 165% to its GDP.
But there are some differences that
might put Spain on a whole different playing field when it comes to determining
on the time to blow the horn. While Greece holds mostly public debt, Spain hold
private i.o.u’s. This became so, when the real estate boom occurred in Spain
where Spain had given out loans summing to $663 billion. And since the burst of
this bubble, there has been more unemployment in Spain compared to Greece and
it would need $200 billion to assist in its restructuring, which the Spanish
government can’t quite accomplish without European help.
However, the similarity is that
Greece and Spain both have an economy that is not competitive. And this, in
turn, would retard growth. The two nations face a long restructuring process of
its social services and its business markets that will test the fortitude of
its people.
So while the merriness has lifted
from the streets and people looking more like an angry mob, the angels are in a
dilemma. Just then, a thunderous roar sounded from the skies and bright flash
of lightning split the heavens and came rushing down to earth. And just by a
micro miscalculation, what was sent to stop the mob fried the Louis Vuitton
clad angel instead. Realizing the error, the gods rectified this mistake and
sent another angel, wearing Jean Paul Gaultier, to assist the Escada wearing
angel. The spectacle had stopped the mob but had given birth to a new problem. The
two angels could not get along….
The recent elections that changed the
French government and with the German Chancellor and French President unable to
come to an agreement on the austerity plan, Greece is growing weary (although
they are not really in a position to do so), and is literally threatening to
leave the Eurozone. It is this unsettled issue that has caused and is causing
the current economic downturn.
Until
they come up with something decisive, even if it is to confirm the exit of
Greece, the economy will continue to gallivant in the red-zone. With the Greek
elections around the corner, decisions (temporary or permanent) better be made;
at least consider taking the lesser of two evils, if such a case were to
present itself! Or in any worse case scenario, those unemployed in Spain and
Greece could come to Malaysia and set up lasagna and pizza stalls in front of
our homes since the Malaysian authorities are very compliant with such things…
Scene ends with chorus wailing on a
high note with the angels wielding their swords at each other!
