German Politicians to Greece: Sell Some Islands!

[Ognir]

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/ ... e-islands/

Scoring easy points with a German electorate unwilling to rescue Greece from its own deficit, public figures and politicians said the indebted Mediterranean country should consider privatizing state holdings — like its islands.

"The bankrupt one has to do everything he can to make money for the sake of his creditors," said Josef Schlarmann, a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party who heads a lobby of small and midsize businesses that back the C.D.U. "Greece possesses buildings, businesses and uninhabited islands, which can be used to pay down debt."

The sentiment was echoed by Frank Schaeffler, a financial expert with the C.D.U.'s coalition partner theFree Democratic Party. "The chancellor can't break the law, and may not promise Greece aid. The Greek state needs to get rid of stakes in businesses and sell real estate — e.g. uninhabited islands."

The harsh words are not the first shot that Germans have sent across the bow as Greece's prime minister prepares to meet with the German chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday seeking signs of solidarity.

Focus, a German magazine, ran a retouched photo of the Venus de Milo, her waist wrapped in a Greek flag, raising one restored arm to show the reader her middle finger next to the title: "Swindler in the Euro-family."

The Greeks responded by invoking the Nazi occupation of the country during World War II, and a diplomatic incident was only narrowly avoided.

Most Greeks are prepared for the government cuts, a poll last week showed, but some pensioners and unions have protested the austerity plan, with a three-hour nationwide strike called for Friday.

Germany, like most of the developed world, has struggled with high unemployment since the financial crisis. In February, the jobless rate stood at 8.2 percent, hardly down from a year ago and up from 7.5 percent in December.

As Europe's largest economy, Germany has one of the lower budget deficits in the region, at 3.3 percent of its G.D.P., but that is still above what it is allowed under E.U. rules. Some analysts expect it to almost double this year, which means Germany faces deep budget cuts without the additional expense of a Greek rescue.

[Whaler]

As Europe's largest economy, Germany has one of the lower budget deficits in the region, at 3.3 percent of its G.D.P., but that is still above what it is allowed under E.U. rules. Some analysts expect it to almost double this year, which means Germany faces deep budget cuts without the additional expense of a Greek rescue.

Germans should be pissed off at their government for bringing them into the EU. Germany should pull out of the EU so they don't have to carry the rest of Europe on their back. Of course that won't happen because Germany is a Zionist occupied country.

[scorpio]

We should all remember that this scenario is the endgame of national debt: The liquidation of national assets!