The Russian President went on a two-day working visit to Athens. Not something to test the waters an attack on the position of Angela Merkel, not to look in the eyes of the left populist Alexis Tsipras.
Before the advent of Donald trump on the main stage the Greek Prime Minister was the most noisy and popular political figure associated with the change. A young and bright politician, without the skills of poker game, rushed to bluff in the game against hardened gamblers.
In a lose-lose for the country the party with the European bureaucrats, the leader of the SYRIZA party tried to use the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and the freedom-loving mood of their own people – all in vain. The promised withdrawal from the hopeless economic bloc did not take place. But Merkel and the accountants of the IMF, impatient and impudent boor, “pulled” Greece still stronger, forcing him to take the unprecedented harsh package of austerity measures that amounted to a threefold reduction in average salaries and pensions. We can say that the cradle of ancient philosophy, instead of start alternative development, was in the clutches of a collective continental Kudrin, who will do anything to debit credit fought, and reporting converged. And no matter what percentage of young people will then take up knives and knuckle dusters in attempts to earn their families a living.
The once prosperous Republic, which had the reputation of a country that has everything, became a state, in which there is nothing. And will not be until 2060, at least. For such period, if you believe the creditors of Greece, calculated the economic reforms of the country. In 44 years of fiscal discipline and living on bread and water, the Greeks will have to reduce the amount of debt from 177% to 20%, and then to continue to live within our means. That is a pittance.
In the old days, the heirs of the ideas of Plato and Aristotle could earn, not especially straining, more than 2000 euros. The freebie is over.
Those who were not fired due to bankruptcy, spend their life at a salary of 350-700 units continental currency. Average parameters in the stably slipping into marginal level of the economy counting is not possible as it was in Russia of the era 1992-1996-ies with hyperinflation and the informal sector. The only difference is that instead of a galloping rise in prices, according to European canons, make “shrinkage and outage” in all spheres and industries.
The unemployment rate is extremely high. 25% can be compared with the Iberian and Balkan targets. The greatest number of idlers, according to tradition, among young people – more than half of Greeks aged 18 to 25 years just laying around and picked his nose under the Mediterranean sun, for them to deal with more than simply nothing.
Those who managed to retire, luck. On the one hand, lived in a normal environment on the other – have at least some means of subsistence. Instead of the allowance of € 1,200 old people are content with a fourfold decrease in cash of soldering. Overall, slightly better than in less crisis, but equally problematic Russia. But then again, prices in Greece, which is the fuel that the majority of food – the most that neither is European.
A reasonable question arises: what do the President of Russia in such a country? The unequivocal answer is no. Someone may think that our guarantor of the Constitution went to negotiate with Tsipras on the subject undermine the economic sanctions regime. Believe in the success of this event with difficulty, because a year ago, the agenda was the same, but eloquent Prime Minister the finger does not hit in order to free up strategic partners from the yoke of isolation. Now the leader of SYRIZA cleared his team from the radicals and looks very obedient element of continental bureaucracy, rather reminding spineless Francois Hollande, rather than combative, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Weapons contracts in terms of sanctions seem utopian. Greece, unlike most NATO countries, regularly bought and defense systems s-300 and tor, a few hundred BMP-1 and anti-tank complexes “the cornet” and, of course, needs to maintain these samples. But it’s not the money that you need to negotiate with the President.
Don’t let Vladimir Putin and the section remains of state property. In the battle for ports and Railways of course, Russia will participate, but most likely, the auctions will be the same as in the case of a redemption of shares of Opel. So, will peck a few crumbs and nothing more.
Another topic of conversation and energy. A week ago, Athens has announced the construction of its section of the TRANS Adriatic pipeline that will ship natural gas from the Turkish hub in Western Europe. The throughput of the highway will amount to 10 billion cubic meters per year. The length of the pipe 510 kilometers. While transit cost $ 2.5 per 1,000 cubic meters per hundred kilometers net annual profit of Hellas will exceed 130 million dollars per year. In comparison with a huge national debt – a drop in the ocean. But, on the other hand, empty as head of local economists, the Treasury and the penny will be happy, unlike Russia, which loses up to 50% of the Italian gas market.
It turns out that Putin travels to Athens to take a break from Russian realities and have a good time in the company of the Prime Minister of Greece – a country that wanted to throw Russia for big money, but has not coped with the responsibility and drowned.
