The economic situation is not getting better in Greece, even after the implementation of measures imposed by the EU and the IMF. Their controllers, who were last week in Athens asked the Greek officials why inflation had increased to five percent in June. The reply they got was the following: "You told us to increase the VAT to 23 percent; we did – prices went up and the tax increases were finally paid by the consumers." A logical answer to a stupid question. Now the EU and the IMF are asking the Greek government to privatize the Public Power Company of Greece by selling it and at the same time increase the price of electricity. So next time they visit Greece, they will ask why inflation in Greece has increased to 10 percent and they will receive a similar reply. Allow us to have some doubts on the knowledge of these so-called experts of the EU and of the IMF. We think that their advice is leading Greece to economic disaster. The Greek government should also analyze the measures being imposed upon it, since after all it is supposed to know more about the Greek economy than the foreign controllers. The Hungarian government recently refused to adopt more stringent measures requested by the IMF and the EU, saying that social unrest from any more measures would topple it.
The truck drivers and owners of trucks that carry liquids went on strike. Why? The EU and the IMF obliged the Greek government to open the industry. This means that new permits would be issued costing only 3,000 Euros, while previously the truck owners and drivers had to pay up to 300,000 Euros for such a permit. Many of these drivers had taken loans which they were still paying off. So they asked for their money back from the government and limit their participation to 3,000 Euros. The government refused of course and the truck drivers and owners went on strike and created serious problems for fuel distribution in Greece. The government then issued a rare emergency order to the truck drivers that was ignored also because there was nobody to deliver these notifications to the truck drivers. So then for the first time since 1974, when the military junta collapsed, the government ordered the country's armed forces to help deliver fuel as the strike continued. So we saw army trucks with police escorts, delivering fuel to airports, hospitals, etc. But what an irony! Greece has a socialist government, with a prime minister whose father was arrested by the military junta, calling the army to break a strike. And Greece is an EU country. We wonder what will be the next step. Imposition of martial law and the prohibition of strikes and demonstrations? We hope not but we cannot exclude it.
