Speech extracts are taken from here.
Following a marathon of negotiations, and indeed pretty fast by European standards and despite the fact that markets are being far more critical and very quick in their responses, we managed what is actually vital for democratic institutions worldwide. We asked for and succeeded in introducing a support mechanism, not to bail us out, but to support Greece in these great reforms and changes that are currently being carried out.
This sense of agony today is not merely ours as the markets are being far more swift, as I said before, and follow-up on political decisions taken. It is not just us that agonise over the matter; it is the same angst that all European partners and the world community share, as to the extent of this crisis and whether it might spill over into the eurozone, the national systems and then the global economy.
Markets are already reflecting and projecting this sense of fear and risk. So allow me to continue my speech in English, to thus stress the importance of the reactions and the response of the international community, given the current circumstances and crisis.
I wish to be very frank about the situation we are all facing, not only Greece, but also the European Union and the world community. In doing so, I will try to answer some frequently asked questions that have been posed to me and my government during this crisis.
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Our problems would have been much more limited, limited by far, if, first of all, the international community had drawn the necessary conclusions and made important and necessary decisions after the international credit crisis in 2008. That was a crisis chiefly provoked by a ‘lack of rules’, ‘lack of transparency’ – these are the words used now in the US – ‘fraud’, as to how credit markets are to function, especially the speculative part thereof.
Any sign of vigilance on the part of the international community as to the need of adopting transparency rules has been unluckily so far anaemic and slow. The result is that even today irrationality holds sway.
For example, interest rates on loans for Greece today are four times higher than what they were four months ago, without there being any logical explanation based on objective criteria.
Markets project their fears. Markets are projecting their fears particularly today, because of the 2008 crisis of trust. They are fearful and base their calculations on the worst-case scenarios. They base their calculations on the worst-case scenarios rather than the most probable ones.
This is irrationality. And if left to their own devices, predictions will become self-fulfilling prophecies.
That is why we need to intervene. It is paradoxical. Several months ago the risks were in fact even greater. Deficits were out of control, there was no stability programme in Greece. There were no tangible results, unlike today. There was no deficit control. There was no political will, no volition for international support for Greece. There was no support mechanism with specific capital earmarked, which we nonetheless have today.
Even so, today, the interest rate on our loans is much higher. It actually is prohibitive.
For those of you that are still not convinced, this is yet further proof that markets do not regulate themselves, and they do not, by definition, function rationally. The interest rates on loans to Greece today are beyond any logic, and this reflects on the one hand the total loss of sobriety by the markets, but even worse the power of speculatory pressure exerted on our country.
Yes, we Greeks do have our special problems. And we are dealing with them. Still, let this be a clarion call for the wider emergency we are facing. We need global governance, global financial governance, and we need it fast.
We cannot let a small fire – a small fire because Greece is only 2-3% of EU GDP– get out of control. It would be dangerous for Greece, damaging for Greece. And we can already feel the damage. But it could be catastrophic for the European Union and the world, yet once more and actually right after the crisis in Wall Street only two years ago. So the message is: Don’t let this small fire become contagious and create a major forest fire both for Europe and the world.
This is not only a problem for Greece, nor is it a problem that Greece alone can solve and deal with.
We know indeed that the European Union has its procedures, and there has been much criticism about what Europe is or can do. And obviously we would like to have seen decisions taken much more quickly. At the same time, we did make decisions much more quickly than almost ever before within the European Union in the past months and with institutional political restrictions. I think that this is also a positive sign of what Europe can do.
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Greece is turning this crisis into an opportunity. I believe both Europe and the world can make this crisis an opportunity also, to make globalisation more stable, more humane, more green, more equitable.
And I do believe Europe will live up to this challenge.
Thank you very much.
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Need I add one single comment after what he said?
Pertinent Links: ECB Central Banker Trichet calls for Global Governance on the same day as Papandreou
Update June 9th: Ever since Papandreou took office he implemented the following plan:
a) Made the economy go bust by proclaiming fear of bankruptcies etc.
b) Evaluated public state property with plan to sell it all off.
c) Restructured the Army training system so that Army officers get trained in universities rather than military academies (this helps to break the sequence of command and make the army more employee-like)
d) Implemented a reform on local governments with project Calecrates. Project Calecrates aims to divide the country into 13 peripheries, and rumor has it that the plan is for these peripheries to be absorbed by foreign nations (!) and Greece splitting into parts. Another effect of this Project, is demolition of cellular identity of each community, by violently integrating with other unrelated communities. Project Calecrates is quite absurd in its own right, since it costs 4.5 bn euros in a time when money is scarce and therefore it should not be a priority by any means.
e) Made concessions regarding foreign affairs with Turkey and FYROM
f) Implemented a plan to legalize various races of immigrants that live in Greece, as Greek citizens (!) with full voting rights. This is up to 1 million people, among 10 million Greeks (!). No sane nation would allow such kind of society altering and vote altering.
This plan has several extensions and goals, however all these are transpiring so fast and the media are covering so few (mainly the economy), so that people are generally unable to process this complex plan and react. It is noteworthy that Papandreou seems to be aware that he is not going to be leader for a multi-year period, as is usual for Greek Prime Ministers. He has often said, on the record, that he disregards political cost in order to pass his policies - which he claims are necessary. Therefore his instructors has told him that his reigning period will be short and that he must hurry in order to do all that are necessary.
The general theme seems to be "globalize Greece on a very fast pace". Strip it off its property, destroy the economy, destroy ethnic identity by introducing millions of foreigners, alter the voting system through foreigners, split Greece up through the periphery-governing scheme, destroy the army as an institutional upkeeper of the nation etc.
Also, Im not sure if its applied, but Ive heard that Greek children will be taught English from first grade - which along with the steady decline in the quality of the education system which makes children dumber, will assist in making them also more ready to consume the "global culture". It is noteworthy that Minister of Education Diamandopoulou is attending Bildeberg meetings, as most of the key government members of the last 10 years or so.
Update 22 June 2010: Papandreou again pushing for global governance... check around 3m 30sec. At a later point he emphasizes about global institutions being "the solution" for the global problems etc.
