Gettin' down in Greece: are the EU and the euro causing the breakdown of representative democracy there?

These are two reports from PBS Newshour 10/19/2011 on the protests against austerity economics in Greece.

Riots Erupt Over Greece's Latest Round of Austerity Measures:



Greece Faces 'a Make or Break Moment' as Austerity Protests Swell:



It's worth remembering that Greek politics features street violence between demonstrators and police more often than is common in most European countries. But the Greek people are really under severe pressure now from this brutal austerity economics being imposed on them by the EU and the European banksters.

And I would say that from my understanding of what's happening there, this is a serious breakdown of representative democracy. And I'm not thinking so much of the rowdy street protests as of the subservience of the Greek parliament to the EU/bankster demands for this awful austerity program that's wrecking the Greek economy.

I've been very hopeful about the "European project" - the European Union - until this year. It's now clearly breaking down in a serious way. The main purpose of the EU has always been political: to promote peace in Europe and to promote democracy in Europe. But the current EU leadership, especially Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy in France, is destroying one of the last century's most hopeful undertakings with their irresponsible insistence on austerity economics.

In Greece, the EU at this moment isn't promoting democracy. It's destroying it. This is truly, truly awful.

Tags: austerity economics, eu, european union, greece

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