Caught between a rock and a hard place

You’ve got to feel for the Greek people.

They vote in an anti-austerity government, vote ‘no’ in the recent referendum and yet after a flurry of rhetoric and posturing on all sides still end up with that same government agreeing to a brutal bailout deal which will have devastating financial and social consequences. And as for the loss of sovereignty that will inevitably follow, well, it must be intolerable for a proud nation.

You don’t have to spend long in Corfu to see first hand that there is a lot that’s wrong with the economy in Greece:  the – um – haphazard approach to paying and collecting tax is truly mind-boggling to someone who is used to the bureaucratic monolith that is Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and you don’t have to look very hard to find someone who is on a pretty decent pension at a young age for no readily apparent reason.  It is also the case that the Greeks (as a nation, not individually) have undoubtedly been living beyond their means.  But none of this is news and was conveniently overlooked when the Eurozone was being created.

The fact is that many Greeks – our fellow Europeans – are experiencing real poverty and are in fear as to what the future holds.   And right now, a bit of fellow feeling wouldn’t go amiss.