Wo die Zitronen blühn

“Do you know that land, where the lemons blossom?”  Goethe was thinking of Italy when he wrote that line, but it could well have been Greece, for there especially the orange groves blossom across the countryside and lemon is an ingredient in every dish.  Greece has always “had its attractions”, as an Austrian EU Commissioner commented this week in Brussels. He added that he accepted no responsibility for Greece’s current straits because he and the other commissioners were only seeking to stimulate the Greek economy.  He suggested that perhaps Greece could help itself by promoting more year round tourism. It is hard doing that of course in the presence of Molotov cocktails and riot police, already part of the product of his industrious efforts.  To those can be added the over 20 percent unemployment rate and the general frustration and rage that set off the cocktails.

Northern Europeans have always enjoyed Hellas, the bright land, as a respite from cold winters and culturally enforced industriousness.  They enjoy its beauty, its history, its bright sunshine and deep shade, its propensity to lie back and do things on “Greek Time”, its mildly exotic costumes and cuisine, and of course its bargains.  So when Greece joined the Euro party and the party became a way of life just not a part of their traditional culture, their willingness to throw restraint overboard to keep attending the balls (a restrained Greek? – get serious!) made the whole country a real bargain for a leveraged buyout by European banks.  That’s what appears from afar to be happening now.  The same article that quoted the EU Commissioner reported that a flood of officials would now descend on Athens from Brussels to find productive ways to lay off more people, cut benefits and otherwise dismember Greece to make it more efficient.  Perhaps in the process they can pick up a Parthenon or two.

In America, current slang for that is vulture capitalism.  Some of our politicians also are experts at it (some would claim we invented it.)  And like EU Commissioners and other leveraged buyout experts they disclaim any responsibility for unfortunate consequences; it was bad choices by the Greeks that created their economic crisis – just as bankers in the U.S. maintain that the misery of a foreclosed mortgage is solely the fault of the homeowner who succumbed to the lure of 0% down payment and easy credit offers.

Before any real solution to the Greek debt crisis can be reached, some genuine acceptance of mutual responsibility must occur.  Yes, Greece got itself into this mess, and yes, the EU community from Commissioners to bankers greatly facilitated the process.  Public recognition of responsibility is not just a sorely needed act of grace; it is a sine qua non for resolution and healing to begin.