Who was behind the economic crisis in Greece?

Our ideological opponents often claim that ‘Golden Dawn blame the financial crisis on immigrants’, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Not only have our opponents never bothered to read a single word of what we have to actually say on the economic crisis, but they also do nothing to refute the slanderous accusations of the media & Western politicians about ‘lazy Greeks’, who are to somehow blame for a massive financial meltdown organised by international usurers.

In this article, we will explore the economic problems of Greece, without the bias of the controlled mass media, to give our readers full understanding of how Greece fell into the current economic crisis.

In short, the economic problems in Greece are a result of the corruption of the Greek elite, and their European ‘partners’, who in reality are nothing more than economic predators. These opportunists knowingly exploited Greece for their own financial benefit. The economic exploitation of Greece by Europe has lasted for over 40 years, and continues to take place while Greece is controlled by EU puppet governments, be they ‘conservatives’ or ‘radical Marxists’.

The post war period

Following the end of WW2, the rise of the Soviet Union as an emerging world power brought the threat of communism ever so closer to Western Europe. In an attempt to halt the spread of communism, the United States launched the Marshal Plan in order to rebuild the West. During the early period of the Marshal plan, Greece was doing the exact opposite of rebuilding its economy. The Greek Communist party, created by a Sephardic Jew to serve anti-Hellenic interests in the Balkans, launched a civil war in Greece which brought as much destruction to Greek infrastructure as the Axis occupation. The civil war is one of the many reasons why modern Greece lagged behind other Western European nations which were largely free of domestic war after WW2.

By the late 40s, it was evident that the speed of Europe’s recovery was relative to the state of the German economy. Looking for a ‘quick fix’, focus was placed on rebuilding Germany’s industrial sector, taking resources from neighbouring countries, which in turn where produced into manufactured goods for export around Europe.

This cycle brought about a rather quick change in Europe’s living standards, and a new Western European economy was emerging. Germany’s immediate neighbours, such as France, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Northern Italy & Austria expanded their industrial base, while the UK & Netherlands re-emerged as centres of International finance for Europe. This left the Mediterranean countries to provide labor and natural resources to the northern manufacturing block. This was to become the basic concept behind the future European Union trade model, but would ultimately become one of the many reasons for the current problems in the Eurozone.

Greece continued to struggle during the 50s and 60s as a result of civil strife and political tension. This instability was mostly attributed to the remaining communists who were being enabled by the soviets in order to overrun Greece. Having infiltrated the press, academia, parts of the military and the ‘United Democratic Left’ political party, the communists were on the verge of plunging Greece into another civil war.

Rise of the Junta

On the 21st of April, 1967, the Greek military under the direction of Colonel George Papadopolous and other high ranking colonels, successfully seized power following massive political and social instability in Greece. Known as the Junta, this period in Greek history lasted until July 1974 and was one of the greatest periods of Greece’s self-driven economic prosperity.

The Junta’s great economic growth was a result of infrastructure developments, which helped keep the unemployment rate low. Under the colonels, Greece was known as the ‘construction zone’, funding some of Greece’s greatest infrastructure projects, including a number of hydroelectric dams and thermoelectric generation units. Many large highways, and smaller roads were developed in order to connect even some of the remotest parts of Greece.

Along with low inflation, Greece prospered with development in the tourism industry & the government provided subsidies to assist small business owners. The Junta was known for its generosity towards working class families, and cancelled all remaining debts of Greek farmers, who were considered the backbone of Greece. The economic prosperity attracted overseas investment, which all fell under strict checks and balances to ensure they were sustainable, and operated in the interests of the Greek people.

The ideology of the Junta’s economic program was based on the principle of self-sufficiency. Instead of relying on German exports, Greece expanded its industrial base, to provide a variety of light and heavy manufactured goods for the Greek people. Agricultural projects also boosted food production, as well as developments in chemical engineering, textiles, telecommunications and other smaller industries.

Although Greece didn't quite have the exact same living standards as the rest of Western Europe, the Junta brought about a new age of prosperity, and Greece was no longer the poor and backwards rural Balkan nation it once was. Greece was on the right economic track, and Greeks from the working and middle class saw great increases in their living standards. The Junta’s economic success was not instantaneous, and slowly improved over the years. The most important underlying factor here was the fact that this was NATURAL economic growth. This was not an overnight ‘get rich’ scheme which would put Greece in a mountain of un-repayable debt, as we have seen with the so called 'Democratic' parties that plundered Greece after the Junta.

Social Democracy, the great lie of the West

As the Junta fell out of favor with the internationalists, it was forcibly taken down and replaced with the ‘social democracies’ we see today in the West. Greece was now ruled by the stooges of the European elite, the parties of PASOK (‘progressive socialist’) and New Democracy (‘conservative liberals’). The 2 parties helped bring Greece into the European Community in the early 80s, which would later be incorporated into the European Union in 1993.

While Greece was developing itself to become self-sufficient under the Junta, the European Community continued in the direction of the Marshal plan. Northern Europe continued as the manufacturing production centre of the economy (centred around Germany), while the rest of the Western European states (particularly those in the South) where expected to be little more than purchases of German products. After all, everyone was convinced a strong Germany meant a strong Europe, so the EU worked tirelessly to develop the ‘great project’, which in the world of economics, took the form of what we now know today as the Eurozone. There was no room for the almost self-sufficient Greece in an economic union which required the smaller states to abandon large sectors of their economy for the benefit of the larger economies.

The concept of the Eurozone was to generate as much wealth for Germany, which in theory would then be distributed around Europe. This logic is similar to the propaganda peddled by the Capitalist class, who believe we should let the rich get richer, in hopes that the poor can also benefit from some of the left over crumbs. As Germany’s economic strength relied on its export market, the purpose of the Eurozone was to tear down any possible barriers that may have hindered Germany’s exports. This meant not only establishing free trade agreements, but also removing all independent currencies amongst member states. With no trade barriers in place, Germany could maximise its exports to lucrative markets across Western Europe.

The Germans however, were not contempt with just free trade agreements and a single currency, they saw small scale manufacturing in Southern Europe as being inconsistent with their economic plans, and used the EU to decide who could produce what. During the 80s, 90s and 00s, all the manufacturing industries developed under the Junta where being slowly destroyed by the EU. Greeks were to purchase manufactured goods in Europe, and abandon much of the large scale agricultural sectors that allowed Greece to feed itself. Greece was given a few niche markets in fruit & vegetable exports, but was largely reduced to develop its economy almost entirely around tourism, an area which the EU believed Greece had a natural advantage due to its place in the popular Mediterranean.

The Artificial Middle Class of Greece

While Greece was busy destroying its local manufacturing and agricultural industries under the command of their European ‘partners’, new sectors of the economy needed to be developed in order to fill the gap created by the de-industrialisation & urbanisation of Greece. Tourism had grown enormously during this time, but was largely too seasonal for your average wage earning workers. Demands for more stable jobs become extremely high among the public, which had the possibility of turning into the major civil unrest as seen during the 60s and 70s.

In order to maintain stability, the government in Greece began taking huge loans, with the European Central Bank eagerly offering Greek political parties incredibly low interest rates (at the time). Both New Democracy and PASOK began competing for power, to see who could be elected in order to best serve the European loan sharks. To help win elections, corruption become rampant in Greece, as PASOK & New Democracy borrowed money from Europe in order to sway & keep potential voters.

Besides the typical scandals, bribes, and other forms of political corruption, the most well-known way to win votes was to promise a government job. The money borrowed by corrupt politicians was then used to fund salaries and offices for a massive public sector that exploded in size overnight. By the 1990s, Greece had one of the largest Civil Servant departments per capita in the world, and government jobs promised high salaries, cars, good pensions, and other added tax benefits. An artificial middle class was born overnight, while production remained at an all-time low for an economy that was being led by the European Union into the state of a modern banana republic.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Greece received more loans in order to modernise its infrastructure, particularly in the lead up the 2004 Athenian Olympics. This presented a great chance for opportunists, both corrupt politicians and capitalists, in order to further exploit the unaccounted money that was being poured into Greece from the EU. Millions of Euros where stolen during financial exchanges, while construction projects where purposely overpriced with the excess funds pocketed by crooks and thieves. In the end, billions of Euros where stolen, by both Greeks and international corporate criminals from around Europe & beyond.

The emerging Culture of Corruption

As a result of the failed socialist policies of the corrupt Greek system, the Hellenic work ethic began to decline amongst those in the public sector. Salaries now included the famous additional ‘13th’ month, the retirement age dropped, and some of the highest pensions in relative terms become expected for retired public servants. Instead of the usual yearly reviews seen in most Western countries, Greeks in the public sector had their salaries reviewed at the end of the every month, providing overly generous salary increases in even the most junior employees, often with little regard for experience or the value they brought to the economy.

Divisions in Greek society have been rife since the beginning of modern Greece, mostly as a result of foreign powers that sought influence in the region for their own interests. The overseas interests manifested into feuds between the royalists and the republicans, the pro-British and the pro-Germans, and between communists and the nationalists. As a result, Greece had become a society of distrust, and collectivists developed closed communities amongst their extended relatives and close friends who shared their political views, often inherited through the tradition of the family.

The concept of ‘ethnos’ was all but lost by the 1970s, and the materialistic culture of the decadent West became mainstream after the fall of Junta following a massive spike in European influence. The average Greek was driven not by a means to serve his people and nation (as expected of a true Hellene), but to generate as much money and power for the benefit of their family. Ripping off the state was fair game for a people who had no trust in a corrupt government that existed for the sole purpose of scratching the backs of their friends & associates.

Political ‘favors’ became standard for families that sided with the ruling parties. Government department jobs were based not any form of meritocracy, or who could do the best job, but almost entirely on family connections. An uneducated niece of an MP could expect a cosy middle class public service job, despite the fact she wouldn't have the qualifications or experience to perform the role. Nepotism, and government connections also came in handy around tax time, and wealthy business men could appeal to their government contacts to have their dues ‘overlooked’. In some cases, Greeks would delay paying their taxes for years until upcoming elections, in hopes that their party would take power, and wipe all their state debts. The wealthy people who paid their taxes in full were considered almost stupid, and tax evasion in Greece became widespread.

Like communism, capitalism reduces a nation’s entire purpose to money. After the junta, the concept of being ‘successful’ in Greece was now decided by the size of your home, or the car you drove. In an attempt to make as much money as possible, bribery became almost standard in certain industries. Doctors began to pick and choose who they would administer treatment, and families were forced to provide the ‘fakelaki’ (envelope with money) in order to be prioritised by the corrupt system. Almost all construction works required similar ‘donations’ to city councilors, as in many other areas of the Greek economy.

High on credit

It would be foolish to assume that neither Germany or the EU had no idea what was happening to Greece’s national finances. By this stage, Germany’s relationship to Greece could be compared to that of heroin dealer. The corrupt elite of Greece was hooked on cheap credit, while Germany was profiting from the German goods which were being purchased by Greeks, now that they no longer had a manufacturing industry of their own.

It is important to note that Germany was not foolish enough to lend massive loans without any form of collateral. Knowing that the Greeks could fall into a crisis at any time, Greece’s natural resources could become fair game should Greece ever default on their debt. This simply isn't a matter of ‘greedy Greeks’ borrowing more than they could afford, as the scandals organised by international bankers and German companies who purposely subverted corrupt politicians are numerous & well documented.

One of the many examples includes German manufacturing electronics company, Siemens, which was revealed to of organised a series of bribes to Greek politicians to secure contracts for the Germans in the lead up to the 2004 Athenian Olympics. Siemens is not alone, as other German companies, such as auto maker Dailmer, and National Railway operator Deutsche Bahn where found in court to of organised similar bribes in Greece. Let’s not forget the famous case of German’s arm producer, Rhinemetall, which was investigated for its role in more bribes to secure arms contracts with the Greek government.  This after all is just some of the cases we know about. It becomes obvious that a clear pattern was emerging; the EU provides Greece with enormous amounts of cheap credit, with German and other international companies using bribes to secure contracts, so that Greeks in turn can then purchase their products. Not only does this allow for much of the ‘borrowed’ money to circulate back into Germany, but Greece is also responsible for paying it back, with interest.

It’s also important to acknowledge the role of Jewish international bankers who (for their own profit) purposely enabled the debt build up beyond the level of control. In the years leading up to the Athenian Olympics in 2004, Gary D. Cohn, the Jewish president of Goldman Sachs, cooked the books in order to help the corrupt politicians of Greece hide the billions of Euros of debt that was piling up behind the curtains of the Greek State. It is also worth mentioning, that under Cohn’s leadership, Goldman Sachs was also the main perpetrator that purposely provided the EU with the erroneous data to allow Greece entry into the Eurozone, another economic move that would strain Greece’s finance in the near future.

Goldman Sach’s reasoning behind hiding the debt was to keep the EU and the Greek public in a sense of false security, so the greedy politicians could continue borrowing large amounts of money while secretly selling off future revenue from public assets to Goldman Sachs. This was completely at the expense of the Greek tax payer, so while Goldman Sachs secretly made hundreds of millions off the Greeks, in return they continued to keep the books balanced to allow the sell-out establishment to continue its drug like addiction of borrowing and spending.

The Bubble Bursts

When the Global Financial Crisis hit, it meant that neither Goldman Sachs nor the corrupt politicians could hide the true state of Greece’s long declining economy for much longer. Despite what was happening in Greece, the PASOK government of Papandreou was still lying to the people, saying that ‘there is money!’. As the global economy began to decline, Greece feel into a series of quarterly recessions, further hitting the struggling economy hard.

In December 2009, Greece’s true economic state was revealed, with national debt hitting 139%, well over the 60% limit of the Eurozone. Even if the Greeks managed to pay every single cent they earned for 1 year to the government, it would still not be enough to cover the national debt. Not only was Papandreou a liar, but all the political parties over the years were concealing this debt until it was too large to hide. The bubble had burst, and Greece fell into a state of unrest as living standard began a massive decline with unemployment soaring over 25%.

In short, Greece was spending more than it earned, and without its own currency to control its economy, had to borrow more money in order to make its loan repayments. Under German pressure, Greece signed up for a series of bailout packages starting in April of 2010. The bailout packages came from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and European Central Bank (collectively known as the Troika) in order to cover Greece’s shortfalls by injecting billions of dollars back into the economy.

The bailout agreement (known as the 'memorandum') came with a series of conditions that essentially reduced Greece into a protectorate state of the international loan sharks. The conditions of the memorandum meant that Greece had to impose harsh austerity measures, as well as enforce massive cuts in public spending. Pensions, salaries, and social services where all drastically reduced to pay back the usurers, as Greece not only had to pay back its massive national debt, but also the ‘bailout’ money, which included conditions imposed by the lenders that further crippled the contracting economy. Greece was now locked into a vicious cycle of uncontrollable debt.

The present

Greece is now stuck in an endless pit of poverty, debt and misery, as the bailout packages have only pushed Greece further into debt, which by 2015, amounted up to a whopping 180% of GDP. The international loan sharks that knowingly destroyed Greece’s sovereign economy and currency, and lent Greece credit well beyond its means, have now demanded that every Greek, be they poor farmers, pensioners, or working class families, pay back the usurers through austerity.

With unemployment well over 25% during the crisis, including youth unemployment of up to 60%, many Greeks are now unable to support themselves. Those that are lucky enough to have a job, will have to do with as little as 650 Euro a month, leaving working class families to struggle even putting food on the table.  The birth rate has continued to plummet well below replacement level, as couples have found it less affordable than ever to raise children. The result means thousands of Greeks, particularly adult men, have committed suicide in the face of one of the worst economic meltdowns during peacetime in Greece.

Greece’s debt is simply unmanageable, and talks continue of further bailouts when Greece is already unable to pay off its existing mountain of debt. The harsh measures of austerity are further crippling the economy, making it harder to generate the surplus revenue needed to make any progress on the current loan. This cycle means Greece can never realistically pay off its debt, and requires immediate action from a government which doesn't serve the interests of the international loan sharks in Brussels.

What needs to be done

The debt is simply the result of corruption, both in Greece and from abroad, by parties who collaborated with the predatory usurers who seek to reduce Greece to a tributary state of the international bankers. The debt has no legitimacy, and Greece must break free in order to save itself from destruction. Golden Dawn is the only party that has the will & strategy to remove Greece from the clutches of the international loan sharks. Under Golden Dawn’s economic policy, Greece will:

• Claim war reparations from the money that was leant to Germany by the Bank of Greece during WW2, which was used to fund the Axis occupation. With interest, this loan is more than enough to cancel the current debt
• Immediately cancel and terminate the memorandum, along with the austerity measures which are poisoning Greece
• Align ourselves with Russia, both politically and economically
• Rebuild our agricultural and manufacturing sector, and strive towards self-sufficiency
• Remove itself from the corrupt Eurozone, and reclaim our national currency in order to manage our own finances without the interference of international predators
• Provide tax breaks for families that bear children, and rebuild an educational system that values the future of Greece
• Invest in new industries to engage the creativity of our emerging university students, who are moving overseas in order to seek employment

Article by XA Australia