Grexit Strategies - And the sun sets on Appollo?

Ulysses' Trojan Horse or The Cup of Hemlock for Europe

Democracy is Greek, so is the theatre, the principles of rhetoric and philosophy. The Olympic disciplines were born in on the Hellenic peninsula. The legendary Grecian heroes serve as role models for popular Hollywood and cartoon heroes in pop culture, Leonidas and his brave 300 fought bravely at Thermopylae, Ulysses and his wit won Greece the battle of Troy and Achilles, even today, is the paragon of heroic strength although Brad Pitt portrayed him 2004 in Wolfgang Petersen the epic Troy. However, if you, passerby, go tell the Spartans, that here by Spartan law we lie, he might just take a long look at you and in his head run through a list of different associations. And the outcome might not necessarily be Sparta, warrior, 300, Frank Miller. Post-crisis, his train of thought might be derailed by the latest news about Greece borrowing more and more money, people revolting on the streets of Athens against austerity measures and experts and media commentators gleefully selling the story to the world – not even the highest bidder.

Months ago the Economist ran a what-if story on a pseudo Merkel memorandum detailing the pros and cons of a Grexit. Of course every econ expert had an opinion and it seems even now weeks and months into the crisis more of those very opinionated scientists crawl out from under their stones with a new and exiting prognosis. Some say it is better in the long run to let Greece go bankrupt. It worked for Iceland and Argentina? Others believe in their gathered data holding firm to their faith on day in a very near future everything will be better. German chancellor Merkel said it; Greece is part of the EU and will continue to do so. The French president Holland, for once, agreed repeating the life affirming mantra Greece is not lost, even though we need to put more pressure on the troubled country since there is no time to lose. The thumbscrews are on, especially when it’s about the protection of your own nation. The British Prime Minister David Cameron is prepared to stop a Greek invasion of Britain even if that would mean blatantly breaking European law. The White Cliffs of Dover suddenly seem strangely close to Thermopylae. He does not wish to be seen as Greece’s saviour, for him good ol’ Germany once again has to shoulder the blame and shell out reparations for the ailing state in the south. From a British point of view, Merkel is to become the heroine of this story. The question however remains as to whether the ESM is the Trojan Horse that brings the decisive victory in a long term war against the Euro crisis or if it’s Socrates’ cup of hemlock.

The Euro crisis has devastating consequences for the country. We may consider it the cradle of democracy but Merkel’s visit to Greece clearly proved deep down the Greek people resent their government for their continued dependence on bail-out programmes stylising the German chancellor as the bitter enemy. And although more than 60 years have passed since the end of the Second World War, it seems in the minds of the people swastika is still very much the symbol of a perceived German oppression. Unemployment rates are high, the economy is devastated and the suicide rate is rising, and people need to put blame on someone’s shoulders. Granted, creating and enemy figure out of, what David Cameron called “the only person who can save the Euro”, might not be the smartest move but it might help them pull through to envision Angela Merkel as Xerxes. The truth is, currently, Ms. Merkel is not every popular with her own people either, obviously for very different reasons, and while she may acknowledge her peoples’ frustration, she still tries to sell the company line: united we stand, divided we fall, in the long run, rescuing Greece is good for Germany even though it would mean waiving off the Greek debt, a question that will be revisited in 2014, provided her party can actually win next year’s elections. So what has been done over the past months ultimatums were met, the pressure was increased, more experts were questioned and in the end it's the taxpayers, that are frustrated with the architects of the rescue-Greece-plan-at-all-costs. 
This is an old story, warmed up every once in a while for entertainment purposes in the different media, because let’s face it after months of repeating the same story over and over again, the people got the message: Greece remains in the Euro zone.