"Ομίχλη στο Αιγαίο"Αυτός είναι ο τίτλος του παρακάτω άρθρου, της έντυπης έκδοσης του Economist. Το κείμενο πλήττει ευθέως τον τουρισμό μας και αναφέρει ότι η Ελλάδα, θα χάσει το 20% των τουριστών της σε όφελος της Τουρκίας. Δηλαδή ρε "έγκυροι", στην Τουρκία δεν υπάρχουν σκάνδαλα ή οικονομική κρίση; Ξεχάσατε ότι την προηγούμενη χρονιά, η Τουρκία κόντεψε να έχει εμφύλιο; Ξεχάσατε το σκάνδαλο Εργκένεκον, που ταράσσει ακόμη την Τουρκία; Ξεχάσατε τις εμπρηστικές δηλώσεις Ερντογάν εναντίον του "σιωνισμού" στη σύνοδο του Νταβός, όπου παρ'ολίγον να έδερνε τον Ισραηλινό πρωθυπουργό; Για τον Αχματντινεζάντ, σηκώθηκαν όλοι επιδεικτικά και έφυγαν από τη διάσκεψη της Γενεύης (Ντέρμπαν ΙΙ). Στον Ερντογάν, που είπε τα ίδια, έβγαλαν το σκασμό ! Και επρόκειτο για την ίδια ακριβώς συμπεριφορά! Μα, ακριβώς ίδια. Πώς γίνεται ο Αχμαντινεζάντ να είναι το μαύρο πρόβατο κι ο Ερντογάν "σεβάσμιος ηγέτης, φίλος και συνεργάτης" ;;;
Αυτό το πρόβλημα έχουμε εμείς οι Έλληνες και δε μας γουστάρουν οι "Δυτικοί": ΔΕΝ ΤΡΩΜΕ ΚΟΥΤΟΧΟΡΤΟ !
Διαβάστε το άρθρο του Economist:
CAFES and bars in Athens are filling up as spring beckons and the memory of December’s nasty riots fades. As the tourist season gets under way officials play down fears of renewed unrest. The message is that Greece was hit merely by a bout of hooliganism similar to post-match clashes between fans of the capital’s rival football teams. Yet Athenians are sceptical, not least because the violence, though diminished, shows no sign of dying out.
Jittery Greek police officers blame self-styled anarchists, who played a big role in the December riots, for a spate of petrol-bombings of expensive cars, bank machines and government offices. A leftist terrorist group, Revolutionary Struggle, claimed responsibility for shooting a policeman in January. In early April two policemen from a rapid-reaction force formed after the riots were shot dead at close range during a late-night identity check, perhaps by east European gangsters.
Fears of public disorder add to existing worries over jobs and mortgages. Yannis Papathanasiou, the newish finance minister, claims optimistically that Greece can escape recession. But as forecasts keep being revised downwards, his mantra of growth above 1% in 2009 sounds less and less convincing. This week the central bank suggested that Greece may join the rest of Europe in recession. The unemployment rate has just hit 9.4%.
Tourism, which employs one in five Greeks, is suffering, partly because of a strong euro. The number of foreign holidaymakers on Greek beaches this summer may fall by 15-20%, say hoteliers. The British are heading for Turkey, where a weak pound is partly offset by a falling lira. Bookings by Russians, the fastest-growing market last year, are sharply down. “If there’s a surge in late bookings, there’s a slim possibility we can break even,” says Nikiforos Lambrinos, a hotelier on Crete, glumly.
After 15 unbroken years of growth at around 4% a year, Greeks are not used to belt-tightening. But Mr Papathanasiou cannot offer even a modest fiscal stimulus. The cost of financing a public debt standing at 94% of GDP has risen since Greece’s credit rating, like Spain’s and Portugal’s, was downgraded in January. The budget deficit is already over the theoretical ceiling of 3% of GDP for euro-area countries.
A record of fudging budget numbers gives Greece little credibility in Brussels. The European Commission has demanded more reforms to keep the deficit below 3% in 2010. Mr Papathanasiou has already announced unpopular measures, including a wage freeze for civil servants and a one-off tax for high earners. More spending cuts are on the way. But structural reforms such as modernising the health-care and pension systems remain stuck.
The gloomy atmosphere is taking its toll on Costas Karamanlis, the prime minister, and his conservative New Democracy party. Last month Mr Karamanlis marked his fifth anniversary in the job by telling a journalist he felt “exhausted” and might step down if New Democracy loses the election that may come next year or even sooner. With only a one-seat majority in parliament, the party trails the opposition Socialists by over seven points, say polls.
Corruption scandals still beset the government. This week a former director of Greece’s competition watchdog was convicted of bribe-seeking. A former minister, Aristotle Pavlidis, is accused of involvement in a bribery scandal over subsidised ferry routes. Mr Pavlidis, who insists he is innocent, has resisted pressure to resign from parliament. Disgruntled conservatives fear that, as Mr Karamanlis and his government focus on anarchists and fiscal discipline, their grip on power is slipping.
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13496220
The Economist
CAFES and bars in Athens are filling up as spring beckons and the memory of December’s nasty riots fades. As the tourist season gets under way officials play down fears of renewed unrest. The message is that Greece was hit merely by a bout of hooliganism similar to post-match clashes between fans of the capital’s rival football teams. Yet Athenians are sceptical, not least because the violence, though diminished, shows no sign of dying out.
Jittery Greek police officers blame self-styled anarchists, who played a big role in the December riots, for a spate of petrol-bombings of expensive cars, bank machines and government offices. A leftist terrorist group, Revolutionary Struggle, claimed responsibility for shooting a policeman in January. In early April two policemen from a rapid-reaction force formed after the riots were shot dead at close range during a late-night identity check, perhaps by east European gangsters.
Fears of public disorder add to existing worries over jobs and mortgages. Yannis Papathanasiou, the newish finance minister, claims optimistically that Greece can escape recession. But as forecasts keep being revised downwards, his mantra of growth above 1% in 2009 sounds less and less convincing. This week the central bank suggested that Greece may join the rest of Europe in recession. The unemployment rate has just hit 9.4%.
Tourism, which employs one in five Greeks, is suffering, partly because of a strong euro. The number of foreign holidaymakers on Greek beaches this summer may fall by 15-20%, say hoteliers. The British are heading for Turkey, where a weak pound is partly offset by a falling lira. Bookings by Russians, the fastest-growing market last year, are sharply down. “If there’s a surge in late bookings, there’s a slim possibility we can break even,” says Nikiforos Lambrinos, a hotelier on Crete, glumly.
After 15 unbroken years of growth at around 4% a year, Greeks are not used to belt-tightening. But Mr Papathanasiou cannot offer even a modest fiscal stimulus. The cost of financing a public debt standing at 94% of GDP has risen since Greece’s credit rating, like Spain’s and Portugal’s, was downgraded in January. The budget deficit is already over the theoretical ceiling of 3% of GDP for euro-area countries.
A record of fudging budget numbers gives Greece little credibility in Brussels. The European Commission has demanded more reforms to keep the deficit below 3% in 2010. Mr Papathanasiou has already announced unpopular measures, including a wage freeze for civil servants and a one-off tax for high earners. More spending cuts are on the way. But structural reforms such as modernising the health-care and pension systems remain stuck.
The gloomy atmosphere is taking its toll on Costas Karamanlis, the prime minister, and his conservative New Democracy party. Last month Mr Karamanlis marked his fifth anniversary in the job by telling a journalist he felt “exhausted” and might step down if New Democracy loses the election that may come next year or even sooner. With only a one-seat majority in parliament, the party trails the opposition Socialists by over seven points, say polls.
Corruption scandals still beset the government. This week a former director of Greece’s competition watchdog was convicted of bribe-seeking. A former minister, Aristotle Pavlidis, is accused of involvement in a bribery scandal over subsidised ferry routes. Mr Pavlidis, who insists he is innocent, has resisted pressure to resign from parliament. Disgruntled conservatives fear that, as Mr Karamanlis and his government focus on anarchists and fiscal discipline, their grip on power is slipping.
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13496220
The Economist
