Mr. Nikos Konstandaras is managing editor and a columnist of Kathimerini, the leading Greek morning daily. He is also a contributor to The BusinessThinker.com
So many foreign politicians, economists and commentators have raised the issue of Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone (perhaps even from the EU as well) that it now hangs over every discussion on our country’s future. This week’s talks between Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande and Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juencker will be no exception, even if there is no direct mention of Greece’s “sacrifice.” It is worth looking at how each side understands the issue and its possible consequences.
It is clear that, as in so many other issues, we Greeks and the “harder” of our creditors (especially some German politicians and economists), look at each other across a cultural divide. Greeks speak of the “sacrifice of Iphigenia”, an act that will allow their partners to sail away in pursuit of their own interests, building their future on a gross injustice. Our partners, however, appear to see Greece the way the crew and fellow passengers of the sinking ship saw Jonah: judging him to be the cause of all their troubles, they threw him overboard in order to save themselves from a terrible storm.
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