The Sleepwalkers

On the 25^th of January 2015, a little more than five months ago, the Greek electorate used its right in a free election to make a choice about the destiny of their country. The result of the election conveyed that a majority of the Greeks voted against austerity and SYRIZA came to power. Since that day, many European governments, led by Germany, have outdone themselves in stubbornly refusing to reach an honest and honourable compromise with the new Greek government. But now, it seems to be pretty much over. It appears that, as of today, the last act of this European tragedy is to be performed.

Two and a half years ago, I had the opportunity to talk at length with Alexis Tsipras about the possibilities of a new left-wing government in Greece. I predicted the future course of events. Tsipras did not believe me. He refused to believe that a democratic Europe would prevent a democratically elected government from acting upon the will of the people. In one way, this naivety speaks for Alexis Tsipras. Perhaps he never completely understood the stubbornness of the people he is up against. Still, this is what happened: the EU institutions did not care about free elections and democratic results. This was to be expected and it is nothing out of the ordinary. I know, from experience in dealing with many developing countries, that democracy does not count whenever a government has to negotiate terms with its creditors (in casu the International Monetary Fund). This happened in Asia, in Africa and in Latin America and it is not different for Greece.