Political instability and rebellion have stretched across the Mediterranean’s North African coastline and up to Syria, but why should they stop there? Why should they not stretch to Greece, for example?
It’s worth remembering that Greek generals staged a coup in 1967 and then ran the country as a junta. Democracy wasn’t restored until 1975. That’s not such a long time ago.
The Greek military is still a very significant force in the country. Greece spends more on its armed services as a percentage of GDP than any other European Union country–3.2% against an EU average of 1.6%, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data.
The day Greece runs out of money–barring yet another massive infusion from the EU, the ECB and the IMF–draws closer by the day. When bureaucrats don’t get paid, they down tools and go on strike. But what happens when the money stops flowing to the army?
In June a report from the CIA concluded that a military coup was possible in Greece. This was picked up business blog Business Insider, for instance.
Every incremental piece of reporting from Athens shows how ungovernable the country is. Tax collectors are refusing to do their jobs. Companies and households are lying about their incomes as never before to minimize the tax that they do end up paying. A desperate government is trying to raise taxes through peoples’ electricity bills, but the electricity unions say they won’t enforce the collections.
....
Is a military coup likely in Greece? Maybe not. But it’s a possibility that can’t be discounted. And if that were to happen, how happy would the European Union be to have a military dictatorship as part of its club?
http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/09/19/greece-dont-discount-role-of-military
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ευτυχώς δεν είμαι μόνο εγώ, υπάρχουν κι άλλοι που γράφουν παρόμοια πράγματα!
It’s worth remembering that Greek generals staged a coup in 1967 and then ran the country as a junta. Democracy wasn’t restored until 1975. That’s not such a long time ago.
The Greek military is still a very significant force in the country. Greece spends more on its armed services as a percentage of GDP than any other European Union country–3.2% against an EU average of 1.6%, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data.
The day Greece runs out of money–barring yet another massive infusion from the EU, the ECB and the IMF–draws closer by the day. When bureaucrats don’t get paid, they down tools and go on strike. But what happens when the money stops flowing to the army?
In June a report from the CIA concluded that a military coup was possible in Greece. This was picked up business blog Business Insider, for instance.
Every incremental piece of reporting from Athens shows how ungovernable the country is. Tax collectors are refusing to do their jobs. Companies and households are lying about their incomes as never before to minimize the tax that they do end up paying. A desperate government is trying to raise taxes through peoples’ electricity bills, but the electricity unions say they won’t enforce the collections.
....
Is a military coup likely in Greece? Maybe not. But it’s a possibility that can’t be discounted. And if that were to happen, how happy would the European Union be to have a military dictatorship as part of its club?
http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/09/19/greece-dont-discount-role-of-military
________________________________________
ευτυχώς δεν είμαι μόνο εγώ, υπάρχουν κι άλλοι που γράφουν παρόμοια πράγματα!
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