Demokratie in Europa

Over the past two days, Mrs Merkel was in Athens on a victory lap to celebrate her successful subjugation of the Syriza government and the subsequent extension of the Greeks’ debt bondage. Nevertheless, even this subservient Greek government managed to upset her victory lap by mentioning the… war and the reparations the Greeks will continue to demand for the gigantic loss of life and infrastructure under the Nazi occupation. Click above to hear my interview on this subject with BBC Radio 4.

BACKGROUND TO MRS MERKEL’s VISIT

Please jump to 1’20” for the English version part.

Onwards with DiEM25-Generation-s-EUROPEAN SPRING and our New Deal for Europe

On November 25, at a hip “event loft” in Berlin, Yanis Varoufakis announced that he’d be campaigning for office in two countries at once. In the spring, the former Greek finance minister had declared his intention to run for prime minister back home in Athens—and in ordinary times, that might have been enough. Today, though, “discontent, xenophobia, and precariousness are on a triumphant march” around the world, as Varoufakis told his mostly German audience.

On Sunday morning, the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis picked up a microphone in Berlin, the German capital where, three years ago, high-stakes negotiations with E.U. leaders culminated in his resignation. Varoufakis, 57, knows many Germans still blame him and his country for the European debt crisis. But on stage in Berlin, next to a banner reading “European Spring,” he announced he would again be running for elected office. This time, in Germany.

Germany is experiencing a paradoxical crisis. Germany is, on paper, flooded by… money. The federal government is in surplus. A tsunami of foreign money is flooding German banks. Families are saving. And even corporations hoard huge amounts of savings. So, why is the political centre not holding? Why are the major parties bleeding? Why is discontent, xenophobia and precariousness on a triumphant march?

Η Γερμανία βιώνει μια παράδοξη κρίση. Στα χαρτιά, η Γερμανία πλημμυρίζει από χρήμα. Η Ομοσπονδιακή Κυβέρνηση έχει καθαρό πλεόνασμα. Ένα τσουνάμι ξένου χρήματος πλημμυρίζει τις γερμανικές τράπεζες. Τα νοικοκυριά αποταμιεύουν. Ακόμα και οι επιχειρήσεις συσσωρεύουν αποταμιεύσεις. Τότε, γιατί καταρρέει το πολιτικό κέντρο; Γιατί η χώρα μαστίζεται από συναίσθημα δυσαρέσκειας; Γιατί θεριεύει η ξενοφοβία; Γιατί θριαμβεύει η ανασφάλεια;