Troubled Times for Greek Finance; Not Happy Swiss
The Greek economy is up the creek without a paddle. As well, this is impacting the Swiss populace which is now sitting around watching this turmoil unfold. The Greek parliament has just said yes for increased austerity in an effort to meet EU-IMF bailout terms. This led to heavy street protests in Greece as well as disappointment in Switzerland.
Blame Game
According to Anastassios Frangulidis, Zurich Cantonal Bank’s chief economist, it’s become all too easy to just place the blame on the government. He insists however, that “all of society has to take part of the responsibility. In the last 30 years there has not been only one government or party in power. In a democratic system every population gets the government they deserve.”
One of the major causes for Greek’s economy being in the gutter is the fact that its populace has been living in sin with its flexible friend for way too long. In other words, the Greeks have enjoyed the good life that they couldn’t necessarily afford. As Frangulidis notes, “this led to a huge current account deficit which was financed for years by foreigners at a very low interest rate – until the economic crisis hit in 2008/9.” According to a recent news article, hopefully these new austerity measures will – at the least – buy the Greek government some time. There’s still however, much to be done in Greece for its recovery.
The Swiss Story
Switzerland has taken in a lot of Greeks in recent years, especially in Zurich. Geneva and Lausanne have also become popular haunts for the Greeks. In an anonymous interview, an embassy worker pointed out that “A significant group of Greek immigrants arrived in Switzerland in the 1960s and there are now many successful Greeks, some of them third generation, in highly-ranked positions in Swiss society.”
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