bktheirregular

So after I-lost-track-of-how-many months of negotiation and brinksmanship, the European Community figured out some sort of debt relief plan for Greece. Short-term pain, hopefully somewhat longer-term stability. The population is desperately unhappy, but let's face it: the country is in a place where there aren't any good painless policy choices at the moment.

So I imagine that my reaction on hearing the news was probably replicated all over the place.

The news: The Prime Minister is going to put the debt-relief agreement up to a referendum vote by the Greek populace.

The reaction, probably punctuated by desks being hit by heads representing about thirty-two-point-eight zillion dollars of at-risk, heh, "investments", was a groan that in any language translates to "oh, crap."

The governing party - PASOK, the Socialists - hopes that the people will, heh, choose wisely. The primary opposition party - Nea Dimokratia, New Democracy, the Conservatives - say that there needs to be a snap election, not to decide on the policy, but to change the government. One of the splinter radical parties, SYRIZA, says there's no point to elections. (Can't quite suss out their logic; something like "meet the new boss, same as the old boss", maybe? Because both major parties bear an enormous amount of responsibility, so to speak, for painting the country into this corner.)

And the Communists, who command the more radical trade unions, want to hold rallies and basically discredit the entire system of governance.

I remember a discussion with my mother and my aunt over the sort of things that happened the last time the Communists tried to do things their way in parts of the country. To give you an idea of how bad it was, when they talk about the Greek Civil War, that's the period they're talking about.

Basically, the Communists demanded fealty and support from everyone in areas they controlled, the older generation said - and they'd lived through it, remember.

Me: "[You support us or you'll get your throat cut, right?]"
My aunt: "[No, they'd gouge out people's eyes.]"

In short, who to trust? I got no clue. None of the parties have given any reason for confidence. The firebomb-throwing anarchists think things will be just peachy if they're allowed to burn down everything that represents the current system - conveniently neglecting that fire spreads, and there's empirical evidence that their fires kill.

Oh, yeah.

This is gonna suck.

One: I'm glad it didn't happen.

Two: Does anybody else in the United States remember the other three hundred and seventy-eight times the Terror Alert got jacked up to red? Wasn't so long ago that it was happening pretty much every third day or so. (Though shutting down Heathrow may prove a better indicator of the seriousness of this thing than anything coming out of the Ministry of Homeland Security.)

Three: I hope the panic-reaction carryon restrictions don't spread to the Athens airport and remain in force until the end of September. Because me, trusting my laptop and other electronic sundries to the baggage handlers here? Not. Happening.

In any event, going to leave an extra hour to get to Piraeus to catch the boat tomorrow. If I don't need it, I'll use the time to scarf down a souvlaki.