The Greeks and us

If God told man to fend for himself, whatever may happen tomorrow, the Greeks seem to be doing his will today: they’ve taken their lives into their own hands. They’ve turned towards their northern neighbours and are now doing their shopping in Bulgaria, where per capita incomes are lower, to be sure, but where the merchandise is so much cheaper. And where the people are learning their language to boot! An object lesson in pragmatism and solidarity right where the EU 27 leaders have been unable to make up their minds.

Instead of waiting for a rescue too long in coming – and liable to arrive too late in the day, the Greeks have opted for a method well known to ex-Communist countries. Back in the Eastern Bloc, rather than put up with the sacrifices imposed by the regime in the name of Socialism, the Romanians, like the Czechoslovakians, used to do their shopping “next door”, at their Hungarian, Polish or Yugoslavian neighbours’, whose shelves were bursting with affordable food. In a word, their survival instincts prevailed over the precepts of Socialist moderation.

This is a lesson in solidarity that Western European countries ought to consider now that they’re being called to Greece’s rescue. Their shilly-shallying calls to mind a Greek myth, the Choice of Heracles in Xenophon’s parable: Kakia, the lady of Vice – who could be likened to most of the countries in the eurozone – offered him riches and the pleasures of life without having to worrying about his neighbour’s plight. Arete, lady of Virtue – here, Germany –, offered him a life of struggling against evil to gain glory: if you covet honour from a city, you must aid that city; the good you desire you first must give. Heracles hesitates for a moment before following Arete. The Union is likewise torn between two options : solidarity towards a partner in trouble – Greece today, Portugal or Spain tomorrow – or the need to teach him a lesson so it won’t happen again and others won’t be tempted by the lure of his profligate ways.

After years of insouciance, Greece is going to have to pay the piper. Whilst waiting for the measures taken by the government to bear fruit and for EU aid to take effect, the Greeks have started fending for themselves. "The gods help those who help themselves” – that’s more effective than sitting idly by. Iulia Badea Guéritée