SIRTAKI AND GREEK WINE (Satis Shroff)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKKknTXlwv4

SIRTAKI AND GREEK WINE By Satis Shroff

Georgos is a Greek and and Hans is a German. They’re old student friends sitting at their Stammtisch in a tavern in Freiburg-Kappel.

The two have ordered Weizenbeer and say: ‘Prost!’ and take big gulps.

‘So what’s up in Europe?’ asks Hans.

Georgos: ‘A lot.’

Hans: ‘Grexit?’

Georgos: ‘Looks like it’s inevitable.’

Hans: ‘Can Athens be saved?’

Georgos: ‘Not before Alexis Zorbas, I mean Tschipras, comes up with concrete reforms.

Hans: ‘But Tschipras did come smiling with his baby-face and new savings plans and reform suggestions lately.

Georgos: ‘Wolfgang Schäuble(CDU) dubbed it as an ‘extraordinary,  difficult summit debate. The European governments have lost confidence in Greece’s latest leftist government ever since they took charge in January. The hope that was evident in the past months has disappeared.’

Hans: ‘What does Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Chief of the Euro-group say?’

Georgos: ‘He says the reform plans that Alexis came up with was insufficient. Like Herr Schäuble, he’s skeptical whether the Greek politicians will actually carry out what they promise.’

Hans: ‘What about other government leaders of the EU?’

Georgos: ‘’Peter Kazimir’(Slovakia) said the suggestions made by Greece were not enough.

Hans: ‘But without the EU support Greece will collapse economically. The banks are closed since two weeks.’

Georgos: ‘Yes. The European leaders think that it’s too late and not enough. Alexis Tsipras has suggested that he’ll bring about a pension-reform, higher taxes, privitisation.’

Hans: ‘What does Tsipras want in exchange?’

Georgos: ‘An aid-programme over a period of three years.’

Hans: ‘How much?’

Georgos: ‘Oh, only 82 billion euros.’

Hans: ‘Pierre Koscovic thinks the Greek suggestion will suffice for a new programme. You know, he’s in charge of the Euro-Rescue-Funds. The key is, of cource, reforms that have to be expediently brought about.’

Hans: ‘Does Tsipras want a third EU aid-packet?’

Georgos: ‘Yes, but the ESM rule says that such a packet comes in question only if there’s a risk of financial stability for the euro-zone as a whole or for its member states.’

Hans: ‘Our Schäuble thinks this is not the case.’

Georgos: ‘So there won’t be a third aid-packet for Greece?’

Hans: ‘Nope.’

Georgos: ‘Where will the money for Greece come from?’

Hans: ‘Well out of the future three-year packet (72 to 82 billion), 16 billion will be from the IMF, who’s own aid-packet runs till March 2016.’

Georgos: ‘Why can’t the IMF lend Greece more money?’

Hans: ‘Because Athens didn’t pay back the 1,5 billion euro credit.’

Georgos: ‘Oops! Run out of money,eh?’

Hans: ‘Nope. Your country is broke.’

Georgos: ‘But didn’t our Greek parliament consent to the reform suggestions?

Hans: ‘Yes. 251 out of 300 MPs said ‘yes’ to the plans of Alexis Zorbas, I mean Tsipras on Saturday night.’

Georgos: ‘Even the Syriza –Alliance?’

Hans: ‘Well, not all of them.’

Georgos: ‘How could Tschipras attain a majority?’

Hans: ‘He got his own leftist votes, received ‘Flankenschutz’ from the rightist populist coalition of independent Greeks, I think. Even the opposition were for it.

Georgos: ‘Didn’t Tsipras tell the MPs that it had to do with ‘difficult measures?’

Hans: ‘Yes he did.’

Georgos: ‘I heard that the European Central Bank, IMF and Euro countries are ready to do further discussions with Greece. Do you think it might lead to the question of trusting and not trusting Chancellor Merkel’s CDU?

Hans: ‘Well, Athens had five years to straighten its economy. Nothing happened. It was the same Greek procedure as every year.’

Georgos: ‘Ah, dinner for one. The Agreement of Maastricht doesn’t mention any exit of its members.’

Hans: ‘Do you mean that once a nation becomes an European member it can’t bail out?

Georgos: ‘I have my doubts.’

Hans: ‘ You see, your Greek PM sent back the our German finance officials to Germany. They’d been sent to Greece to help straighten out the tax-system with German efficience. Tschipras didn’t want a change in the age-old Greek administrative methods. Athens regarded it as an affront.’

 Georgos: ‘Is Schäuble held in high regard among his CDU-colleagues?

Hans: ‘Sure. After Schäuble spoke to his CDU-colleagues he received five whole minutes of applause. They stood up to a man behind him.’

Georgos: ‘Do you think we Greeks will do our homework well?’

Hans: ‘Well, the first thing would be to change the system, cash in the tax that hasn’t been paid, you’ll be obliged to reduce the public service commission, and pay the employees balanced salaries etc.’

Georgos: ‘And if PM Tsipras can’t bring about the revolutionary changes?’

Hans: ‘It’ll mean bye-bye to the euro-zone.’

Georgos: ‘You mean Grexit?’

Hans: ‘I’m afraid, the answer lies in the affirmative.’

‘Wait a minute. This news just came in,’ says Bettina, a blonde Alemmanic woman. Here’s it: ‘There will be no eurozone exit for Greece after eurozone leaders Monday morning agreed on a third bailout deal for the country in exchange for strict reform measures. Speaking after a marathon weekend summit, President of the European Council Donald Tusk said the leaders had reached an agreement in principle to start negotiations on financial aid through the eurozone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, or  the ESM. ‘Today we had only one objective — to reach an agreement. After 17 hours of negotiations we have finally got it.’

Georgos: ‘Oh, it’s really all Greek to me. Yamas! Prost!’

Then he whispers in Bettina’s ear, who’s serving the drinks, to play his favourite song. It’s Udo Jürgen’s ‘Griechische Wein.’ Georgos begins to dance a sirtaki. The Greek looks sad and he goes down on his haunches, and as the music gets louder, he begins to raise his torso to the rhythm and dances. Others in the tavern join him in a circle.

The Europeans are dancing the sirtaki together they’re all smiles, like Alexis Tsipras.