George Papandreou and his opposition leader reached an agreement Sunday night.
The embattled prime minister is stepping down in response to widespread calls for his resignation. The Greek people still do not want to face the crushing truth — they have lived for too long off the state, an entity so impoverished that the Greek economy has relied on one bailout from the Eurozone after another just to service its daily expenses.
Some of the elements of the transition deal included:
1. securing the release of European Rescue funds
2. meeting fiscal targets imposed by creditors
3. passing the 2012 budget by the end of the year
Papandreou insisted on being informed of the composition of the new unity government before he stepped down.
This catalogue of demands smacks one as flighty, fanciful, and fantastic. The Greek government has already ambled through two no-confidence votes rather than attacking the fiscal crises gripping the state. Once the current Prime Minister steps down, what guarantee will there be to ensure that the opposition follows through on the plan laid out by the unity compromise?
The Greek Politicians are still interested in shoring up their constituents' favor far more than ensuring that the Greek ship of state does not crash on shore.
Despite the growing doom looming over the Hellenes, local newspapers in the Mediterranean country are still polling readers for their opinions as to how their government should handle the debt-relief offered by the Central Eurozone Bank in Brussels. At what point will the leaders in Greece be leaders and face head-on the economic turmoil which threatens the entire country? Every voice, every interest pulls away at any meaningful compromise and further stagnates the inevitable fallout of a nation which spend far more than could ever have been raised in revenue.
To assert that the Greek government's Compromise is compromised, only compromises further the sad state of affairs in a country which has boasted of a lax life-style, little responsibility, and a work ethic so ephemeral that state workers retire at 45, drawing on a state pension for the rest of their lives.