I’ve been concerned about the riots in Greece (as are some of the people signed up on our Greece tours). We just got this report from Athens by David Willett, who leads our Athens & the Heart of Greece tours. I think David is brilliant on anything relating to Greece, and his report sums things up nicely. I thought I’d share his take on the problem with all of you. Here’s David’s analysis:
The police shooting of the boy was the catalyst for the rioting, but not the underlying cause.
The underlying causes are economic — static wages and spiraling prices, particularly for food and fuel.
The government is very unpopular and seen as insensitive. It’s also a lame duck, holding a single-seat majority in parliament. Its problems began with its pathetically disorganized response to last year’s wildfires, which occurred just before parliamentary elections that the government had been expected to win easily. Since then, it has been involved in a continuing major corruption scandal involving a land swap with one of Greece’s biggest monasteries.
Elsewhere, this mix might also lead to demonstrations, but in Greece things invariably turn violent. This is a legacy of the street protests and university sit-ins that undid the Greek colonels’ military junta in 1973, which had the effect of legitimizing violent street protest in the eyes of many Greeks. A general dislike of the police that borders on hatred at times is another legacy of the junta years, when the police were one of the tools of repression.
Greece has a lot of anarchists and fringe leftists, who have been out in force agitating as usual, but the intensity of what’s been happening shows how desperate the economic picture is for Greece’s many, many highly educated young people who graduate from university expecting something better than a €700-a-month job in a service industry. They are referred to as the “700-euro brigade,” and they are the ones who are angry.
I’m sure this will lead to an early election, but not to an early solution. I think Papandreou has infuriated many Greeks by sitting back and gloating during the riots instead of calling for calm. He has also fiercely opposed much-needed reform of the pension system, and reform of the bloated public service, so I don’t know what he has to offer.
Whoever holds the reins will be answerable to Brussels on economic policy — or rather to the European Central Bank, which lays down very strict guidelines to the Eurozone countries.
It will be very interesting to see whether the ECB takes this as a warning, and acts to head off similar problems elsewhere.
The good new is that no-one has tried to blame America for what’s happening. There hasn’t been a single march on the US Embassy, which lets us know that Greeks see this as a domestic/European problem.
I don’t foresee any problems for our tour schedule or for Americans in Greece as a result of what’s going on.
This is a sad predicament for a wonderful nation. When does free speech become anarchy and how much leeway should anarchists be given? I can appreciate those who seek to express their opinion by voting, by writing to newspapers, and by going to political rallies. However, when groups go so far as to disrupt society, endanger the lives of other citizens, etc., I am prepared to draw a line and say they no longer are expressing their opinions but have become a public menace and should all be thrown in jail or sent to work camps for extended periods. More importantly, I wonder how much these young, college age individuals have been led around by their philosophical noses by left-wing radicals posing as learned professors that not only condone, but encourage such behavior? I reject what is happening in Greece and after the 1999 WTO riots in Seattle, I am aware that it is just as possible in the United States as it is anywhere else. We don’t have to travel to express our rejection of such unacceptable, violent behavior. Thankfully, they are not blaming the US (why on earth would they?), but this does not sound like an ideal situation for a traveler…even those as appreciated as Rick Steves’ tour groups. I guess those seeking a real adventure can look forward to the potential for a rather dramatic time. Thanks for the update. A pox on the demonstrators and those who condone it!
Good for the youth of Greece. And why aren’t the youth in this country out raising hell and protesting government policies and wall street greed that has so obviously affected their future prospects and quality of life? They would certainly be justified in spouting revolution but I guess, in the end, youth really is waisted on the young.
Rick………….I have often wondered why you do not have a Greece guidebook. …….It would be great and I would be keen to visit Greece if one was available…………I like LP but consider them only when you don’t have a book available for an area………I like the fact you are continually expanding your coverage as Europe and the EU expands…….my goal is to visit every country you have a book for…..Happy Christmas……
Sounds like Michael B would have been on the side of the crown during the American Revolution.
Thanks. The analysis you provided is as good as anything I’ve read in the mainstream press.
Richard–Good for the youth of Greece?– as they set a policeman on fire, break windows of shop keepers who had nothing to do with the killing of the young boy, destroy property and terrify citizens and visitors. There are better ways of protest.
a very insightful analysis–I ‘ve never seen this perspective on their troubles ! also–great comment by RICHARD above! I share his feelings & I’m an investment profeesional whose been tainted & betrayed by Wall Street…hope the citizens of Greece will be able to re-create the “cradle”. better times are coming !!
Wide-spread rioting on this scale (as opposed to localized outbursts of anger) is never completely spontaneous. Here’s what I want to know: Who is organizing all of this or fanning the flames, and to what end?
Where’s the pot talk
I am a retired American, who has lived in Athens for the last 15 years, and my ties to Athens go back 50. My wife is Greek, and we go to Athens 2 or 3 times a month. Mr. Willett got it “spot on” as the Brits would say. No one at any news service has even come close. The shooting of the boy,gave the criminals the excuse to do what they have been doing for years, but on a larger scale! The problem is that there is no political solution to the problem. The interesting thing about Greece’s “anti-Americanizm”, is that it is directed at the US government, not at Americans. I’ve never had a problem here, and if there is a demonstration when I’m downtown, I just move two or three blocks over.
Intresting… Adeel Khan sherwani from Atlanta
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