So who, when and how has Greece become bankrupt?
I actually lived in Greece during the second Papandreou reign of power. That would be Andreas Papandreou who was elected in October 1981, just three months before I was stationed at Hellenikon Air Base as a member of the 7206th Security Squadron. Wow, those were some great times but I’ll leave that for another story. Actually now that I think on it I have decided that I am going to add a completely new section to my blog, that being of my own period of service, images, videos and the stuff most Americans never read about nor had even seen. Ok back on topic. 
Told you I ramble sometimes.
Alrighty all ready…
If we are to even attempt to find an answer to the peril that has befallen today’s Greece, we must first understand its history. What is amazing to me is the very fact that I can plainly see similarities of Greece 30 years ago with our current day country ruled by the president, Barack Hussein Obama. His policies have directly led to class warfare vs. common sense. Thus this article definitely relates to this blogs title “Concepts vs. Reality“.
The history of Greece to me is simply an amazing adventure from the days of the Archaic and Hellenistic periods, then through the Crusades, World War I, the Greco-Turkish War, and World War II, the Greek Civil War, the Post War Recovery and finally the restoration of democracy. It is my strong belief that a country and that means any country goes through periods of failure through out its growth. The old adage you have to make mistakes in order to learn and progress as an individual is no different for a country or state. We see our own country entering this phase now with the same governing principles used by Greece 30 years ago. It’s what we learn from our mistakes, and ultimately how we correct them, that will determine our path and ideology moving forward.
Who was Andreas Papandreou?
Born in Feb 1919, he was the son of the leading Greek liberal politician George Papandreou. From 1937 to 1938 he attended the University of Athens. The ruling party at this time was the Fascist Metaxas dictatorship which took its roots from the Fascist Party of Italy and most notably Benito Mussolini. Andreas was accused of being a Trotskyite; which firmly believed in the theory of Marxism… OK here we have our first clue of what is to become. Isn’t that what Obama has based his life’s principles and values on? Hmm; I wonder was Andreas also community organizer?
Rather than being imprisoned; Andreas, aided by his fathers influence was allowed to leave the country. To go where? Yep! That’s right; naturally he landed here in the United States of America, where he soon became a US Citizen (legally). The Land of the Free, the Land of the Bold. I mean really, where better to get an education on left wing politics and way of life then in our own country’s school system. Just ask the Governor from Texas, the Honorable Rick Perry; hell, he grants FREE education to illegal immigrants. At least Papandreou became a citizen first. Andreas received a PHD in economics from none other than Harvard. Andreas also served in the US Navy as a medical corpsman and later became the Chief Economist at yes, Berkeley! Whoops, by the way I forgot to mention that our very own Community Organizer also graduated from Harvard.
He returned to is home land Greece in 1959, two years before the exalted ruler birth of Obama. The following year upon his return he became the Chief Economic Advisor and the Advisor to the Bank of Greece. Just three years later in1963 his father George Papandreou became prime minister. His father was from the Central Union Party; a party hastily put together. It was the last of the Venizelism political movements that ended in the 1970′s. This movement openly opposed the monarchy, supported the annexation of Crete back to Greece, and believed in protectionist economic policies. Policies very restrictive of Free Trade through an over abundance of government regulations and tariffs. The Central Union Party undoubtedly would not have come to power in 1963 with out the help of the EDA, which was basically just a front for the Communist Party (KKE) which had been banned. In 1964, Andreas Papandreou renounced his US Citizenship and was elected to the Greek Parliament, immediately becoming the Assistant Prime Minister.
The US Military Presence expands operations…
I should really mention that at this time the US Military had a semi-presence in Greece following tithe occupation by the Germans during WWII. The Hassani Airport as it was known at the time became a base of operations in order to help facilitate the Marshall Plan; bringing aid to Greece and Turkey. In 1954 with the end of the Marshall Plan, the US Military assigned the 7206th Air Base Group to the airport. Just two years later in 1956 civilian air traffic returned to the airport and was renamed Athenai International Airport. The US was granted a small piece of the airport for its use in deploying the 6916th Security Squadron. I am not going to get into their function, much of which was highly classified as Top Secret at the time. Needless to say, I will talk about this in a future article about my service and being stationed there. The US portion of the airport was renamed Hellenikon, AB in 1976. This was five years before Andreas Papandreou became Prime Minister of Greece.
The fall of the first Papandreou…
During the early years of the 1960′s the Prime Minster George Papandreou was very out spoken about the increasingly expanding US Military presence in the country, and remained neutral of the politics involving the Cold War. Mentioned earlier Papandreou was a member Venizelism movement which openly opposed the Monarchy. His open policies against the monarchy; run by the 25 year old King Constantine II, his son Andreas sudden rise to become the new leader of the left wing, as well as his son Andreas purported involvement in the “ASPIDA” scandal led to his resignation in 1965. The ASPIDA was a secret organization that sought to place individuals in power despite any merits to fulfill the position.
The Apostasia…
For the next two years from 1965 to 1967 Greece basically had no government what so ever. King Constantine II tried over and over again with five attempts to form a government. Elections were again scheduled for May 1967. One of the biggest fears at the time was that Andreas Papandreou along with his left wing would cause a constitutional crisis, and his father George Papandreou would again be elected. In fact according to some sources the US was also very concerned that Andreas would end up playing a very large role in the new government. The pressure was mounting from the Communist at this time. Finally, under the disguise that the country was about to be taken over by communist and just weeks before the new elections the May 1967 a coup d’état took place. A military regime was formed known as the, “Regime of the Colonels”. Many believe yet still to this day that our own CIA played a key role in the coup. There is however no doubt that the US knew of the intended coup days before it happened, being informed by the leading Greek military officers.
The Dictators…
George Papadopoulos was the main General behind the coup along with two other Generals. The first order of business was to begin arresting the members of the left wing; including George Papandreou who was placed under house arrest and died in 1968. His son Andreas was imprisoned, along with 1,000′s of other people arrested under the regime. Andreas with the aid of many in the US was eventually freed and moved to Sweden. Eventually even the King was forced to flee the country leaving the new military regime with full power. Papadopoulos was appointed Prime Minister and the seven year rule of the “Police State” had taken hold. Throughout the next seven years the people of Greece endured a country deprived of many Human Rights. The regime would announce new orders over loud speakers, most starting with, “We decide and we order”. Just five months after the take over many countries in Europe were demanding the Human Rights Commission get involved.
Torture was used to suppress free speech and gatherings were prohibited. Violators of the new laws were subject to punishment such as:
- Beating the soles of people’s feet with sticks and pieces of metal pipe.
- Sexual torture such as shoving objects into people’s vagina/anus and twisting them violently
- Choking people and shoving rags soaked in urine and excrement down their throats
- Ripping out hair from the head and pubic regions.
- Jumping on people’s stomachs
- Pulling out toenails and fingernails
Note: The above torture methods were extracted from Wikipedia with out editing.
US Policy towards the regime was supportive at the time and the regime was considered an ally, due largely to the fact that we were in a cold war with the Soviet Union and the military regime could not stand communism. The US Military presence at AIA grew ignorantly during this period, supporting reconnaissance flights over the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East. Naturally in order to advance US policy during the Cold War the US Government turned a blind eye to the people of Greece. This attitude by the US spurred anti-americanism from the people of Greece.
A Failed Coup – and the Turkish Invasion…
In 1974 a military coup was attempted on the island of Cyprus, resulting in a Turkish invasion. While on the main land an uprising at the Athens Polytechnic all lead to the fall of the regime. The Turkish invasion ended with Cyprus being divided by the Green line which is still monitored by NATO today. I can tell you first hand that the fact that the US did not intervene to stop the invasion left a very sour taste in the mouths of many Greeks. I personally know many Greeks and have been friends with them for over 20 years, this simply added to more anti-americanism in the country. The rule of “The Generals” ended with the appointment of a former Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis in 1974. Karamanlis legalized the old Communist Party, the KKE and formed the New Democracy Party.
During the period of the regime Andreas Papandreou was traveling the world as the leader of Pan-Hellenic Liberation Movement (PAK), garnering support against the regime. In 1974 at a meeting in Switzerland he along with other leaders of the movement disbanded and he returned to Greece.
The second coming of Andreas Papandreou…
Andreas was back in the public eye in his home land of Greece. Upon his return he formed the new PASOK Party, Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement. He was joined by his friends from PAK and other small parties that were opposed to the old military regime. Andreas also testified at the trials of that surrounded the regime and openly defied the US Government and the CIA’s role in the coup.
The following four years saw Andreas speaking out vehemently against the American presence at the International Airport, the US involvement in the coup and the lack of equality between the different classes within the Greek society. I wonder if any of this now starts to sound familiar. In the October 1981 elections, just over 30 years ago his PASOK Party would win a landslide victory. Andreas Papandreou became the first socialist Prime Minister of Greece. In November of 2008, just over 30 years from Andrea’s landslide victory another social movement finally succeeded in gaining power. This time is was not a foreign country but right here at home with the election of Barrack Hussein Obama.
During Andreas’ campaign he preached the withdrawal from NATO, the closing of the American AB which was now know as Hellenikon, AB. as well as several other reforms. Despite his campaign promises Andreas backed away from his campaign rhetoric and took a more conservative stance in governing. He did not withdrawal from NATO, he did not close Hellenikon, AB but what he did do may shock you in its direct correlation to what we have seen in this country the last 3 years.
Papandreou implemented wide and stretching social reform, resulting in a state dependent on welfare. He instituted social programs such as a Nationally run Health Care system, he introduced “Wealth Distribution”, raising wages for the lower class while at the same time adjusting pensions by indexing for the wealthier individuals. One thing about Papandreou he was a great speaker, even with no teleprompter technology at the time. He was able to garner considerable aid from around the European Union to pay for his reforms. The bill always has to be paid at some point…
I was there in from 1981 – 1984; I rented from a Greek landlord who continually complained that nobody wanted to work. Hellenikon, AB was probably the largest employer of Greeks in the metropolitan area of Athens. I worked in Security and I was responsible for entry into the base. On numerous occasions the base workers staged protest at the main gate, burning American flags, and demanding more pay. In fact the majority of these protest were incited a backed by the Communist Party, the KKE. They actually had a headquarters building within a stones throw of the main gate. Protesters on one occasion stopped the pregnant wife of a service member pushing her to the ground. There were bombings in Glyfada at the Voula Beach Officers Club. You think there was any anti-americanism within the country? I’m going to save the good stuff for an article about my military service while stationed at Hellenikon.
Andreas Papandreou easily won re-election in 1985. He continued to spend the country into oblivion while at the same time giving the people the social reforms they wanted; he instituted civil marriages, adultery became legal, students elected their own professors, the PASOK party even took all the property owned by the Greek Church. The majority of Greeks were very happy, and why shouldn’t they be, they were being governed by a socialist that was willing and determined to provide for all their needs an imprisoned them through the dependency on government. Compared to the regime of “The Generals”, he offered every thing they never had. They weren’t worried about the mounting debt, just as so many Americans in this country are not worried. They see today as what is most important, without any regard for the generations that will follow them. Heck, why should we care about people who aren’t even born yet right. Let them figure it out. Well that time has come for Greece.
In 1988 controversy surrounded Papandreou once again, and it was not his first time where he was involved in a Bank Scandal. In 1989 he was indicted by parliament for his purported participation in the Koskotas scandal, which involved the redirection of funds from state run corporations to the Bank of Crete, at which point the interest was skimmed in order to support his PASOK Party. He was eventually cleared of wrong doing in 1992, but not until his wife divorced him. The election of 1989 saw his party lose the popular vote, however in 1988 the Papandreou government and PASOK Party had changed the electoral law. Do you think they foresaw what was coming in the next year? From 1989 through 1990 Greece went through three actions before Papandreou finally lost to Constantine Mitsotakis of the New Democratic Party. The actually hated one another. Mitsotakis was an original member of Andreas father Georges Center Union Party in the 1960′s. Mitsotakis however was the leader of the dissidents known as the Apostates that brought down George Papandreou’s in 1965.
Mitsotakis was the complete opposite of Andreas, cutting government spending every where he could, which was not going to sit well with the people after 9 years of government subsidies. In addition Mitsotakis made private the state run corporations that Andreas had created. He also repealed the electoral law conceived by the PASOK party during the previous three elections. Mitsotakis was the first Greek Minister to visit the United States in 26 years; he also re-opened talks to keep Hellenikon, AB open.
In the 1993 election after Andreas Papandreou had been cleared of any wrong doing he became Prime Minister again. The people had spoken, they wanted to return to the welfare state they once had just three years prior. Papandreou’s return to politics was short lived; failing health resulted in his retirement in 1996. The majority of damage had already been done to the economy, and the people of Greece. The nine years of non-stop spending without increasing revenues had already determined the future of the country. Papandreou died in the summer of 1996. He is still today one of if not the most popular Prime Ministers in the history of Greece. He was independent in his thinking, he was not afraid to say no to America, he brought the country together again after its Civil War.
After Andreas Papandreou…
Costas Simitis took over as Prime Minister in 1996. He too was a member of the PASOK Party. Simitis stayed in power for eight years. During his term he took a different approach than his predecessor. He concentrated on public investment and infrastructure. When I was stationed in Greece during the early years of Andrea’s government I was astounded by the number of building structures that were just sitting there. They were nothing but concrete walls with no workers what so ever. Actually I can’t recall anything being completed construction wise while I was there.
Simitis had already said he would not run for re-election in 2004, the people figured he was just saying that because he knew he would be defeated in the up coming election. Another Papandreou was stepping into the spot light, George Papandreou took over as leader of the then feigning PASOK Party. The election of 2004 saw the defeat of the PASOK Party and the conservative New Democracy Party led by Kostas Karamanlis won the election. Karamanlis remained as Prime Minister from 2004 – 2009. He failed to correct Greece’s financial woes which were so deeply involved in corruption, falsified documents, and a people that were loosing patience. What do I think? I believe the people of Greece were just as mush at fault for the financial crisis, they allowed themselves to be lulled into a stupor like that of a drunken sailor on shore leave. The generous policies of the socialist Papandreou government that led them down the path of a welfare state was now rearing its head as the country was collapsing amongst more unrest, riots and more scrutiny from the EU.
So what do you think the people did to try and solve their problems? That’s right they elected another Papandreou; the son of Andreas, George Papandreou. The new George took office in 2009 and immediately announced to the world that Greece’s budget and deficit woes were much larger than had the world had previously been led to believe. Greece was literally falling apart from the seams. He immediately began to raise taxes on the people while eliminating social welfare programs that the people had become accustomed to. Tax evasion had been a major problem in Greece for many years and measures were taken to put an end to the loop holes. Nationwide strikes became an every day event around the country; Athens saw numbers in the hundreds of thousands. In early spring of this year over 3/4 of the Greek people had lost all confidence in the ability of the younger George to help them out of the problems that his father and grandfather had created before him.
The Real Democracy Now! Was the major force behind all the protesting. Any similarities here with the TEA Party movement in our own country? Let’s just say that the Real Democracy is a grass roots movement of the ordinary citizens of Greece, they protest peacefully, they write about their meetings so other citizens can stay informed. The movement is also NOT affiliated with any party. “It functions as a platform for the exchange of ideas as well as a way in which its members, known as the “indignants”, show their disapproval and rejection of the current political status quo of two major parties exchanging power between themselves.”
Now if this not sound exactly like the Tea Party movement here in this country than I don’t know what does. The similarities between the Papandreou PASOK, Socialist Party and our current administration are uncanny. The new movements are clearly similar. The biggest difference is that we may still have time to STOP IT! It took 30 years for the welfare policies of Greece to bankrupt the nation. The policies made by our current administration can still be undone and very well they should be. History is the best teacher of portraying the future for mankind.
2012 is a decision of a life time for America as we know it. Do I have an answer? No, except for we need a Real Change of direction and a real referendum to follow the true path that formed our constitutional ideology if we are to avoid the same type of collapse. The way to prosperity may vary well hurt many Americans in the short term, but it will ensure the prosperity of this country for our children, our grand children and the future generations of this land we call America. Many have died for our Flag and Country, many more will volunteer to replace them, and it’s what makes this country so different than any other country on this earth.
Vote to put America on the path to freedom for all people, freedom from government dominance, freedom to choose your own path in life, and the freedom to once again to be a people under One Nation under God and Indivisible.
Research for this article was derived from the sources at Wikpedia.
November 5th, 2011 
Bruce 
head out from beneath the dark side of the political arena. The up and coming Hermain Cain has been accused of “Sexual Harassment”. Governor Perrys camp tells us they had nothing to do with it. Let’s be real here? Do you honestly believe that Perry would not do just about anything to get elected. In my opinion Perry is a snake, I simpy don’t trust him. Whether it be the way he has handled him self in the debates or the way he displays any lack of concern for the issues facing all Americans today.
Papandreou vs. Obama ?
So who, when and how has Greece become bankrupt?
I actually lived in Greece during the second Papandreou reign of power. That would be Andreas Papandreou who was elected in October 1981, just three months before I was stationed at Hellenikon Air Base as a member of the 7206th Security Squadron. Wow, those were some great times but I’ll leave that for another story. Actually now that I think on it I have decided that I am going to add a completely new section to my blog, that being of my own period of service, images, videos and the stuff most Americans never read about nor had even seen. Ok back on topic.
Told you I ramble sometimes. 
Alrighty all ready…
If we are to even attempt to find an answer to the peril that has befallen today’s Greece, we must first understand its history. What is amazing to me is the very fact that I can plainly see similarities of Greece 30 years ago with our current day country ruled by the president, Barack Hussein Obama. His policies have directly led to class warfare vs. common sense. Thus this article definitely relates to this blogs title “Concepts vs. Reality“.
The history of Greece to me is simply an amazing adventure from the days of the Archaic and Hellenistic periods, then through the Crusades, World War I, the Greco-Turkish War, and World War II, the Greek Civil War, the Post War Recovery and finally the restoration of democracy. It is my strong belief that a country and that means any country goes through periods of failure through out its growth. The old adage you have to make mistakes in order to learn and progress as an individual is no different for a country or state. We see our own country entering this phase now with the same governing principles used by Greece 30 years ago. It’s what we learn from our mistakes, and ultimately how we correct them, that will determine our path and ideology moving forward.
Who was Andreas Papandreou?
Born in Feb 1919, he was the son of the leading Greek liberal politician George Papandreou. From 1937 to 1938 he attended the University of Athens. The ruling party at this time was the Fascist Metaxas dictatorship which took its roots from the Fascist Party of Italy and most notably Benito Mussolini. Andreas was accused of being a Trotskyite; which firmly believed in the theory of Marxism… OK here we have our first clue of what is to become. Isn’t that what Obama has based his life’s principles and values on? Hmm; I wonder was Andreas also community organizer?
Rather than being imprisoned; Andreas, aided by his fathers influence was allowed to leave the country. To go where? Yep! That’s right; naturally he landed here in the United States of America, where he soon became a US Citizen (legally). The Land of the Free, the Land of the Bold. I mean really, where better to get an education on left wing politics and way of life then in our own country’s school system.
Just ask the Governor from Texas, the Honorable Rick Perry; hell, he grants FREE education to illegal immigrants. At least Papandreou became a citizen first. Andreas received a PHD in economics from none other than Harvard. Andreas also served in the US Navy as a medical corpsman and later became the Chief Economist at yes, Berkeley! Whoops, by the way I forgot to mention that our very own Community Organizer also graduated from Harvard.
He returned to is home land Greece in 1959, two years before the exalted ruler birth of Obama. The following year upon his return he became the Chief Economic Advisor and the Advisor to the Bank of Greece. Just three years later in1963 his father George Papandreou became prime minister. His father was from the Central Union Party; a party hastily put together. It was the last of the Venizelism political movements that ended in the 1970′s. This movement openly opposed the monarchy, supported the annexation of Crete back to Greece, and believed in protectionist economic policies. Policies very restrictive of Free Trade through an over abundance of government regulations and tariffs. The Central Union Party undoubtedly would not have come to power in 1963 with out the help of the EDA, which was basically just a front for the Communist Party (KKE) which had been banned. In 1964, Andreas Papandreou renounced his US Citizenship and was elected to the Greek Parliament, immediately becoming the Assistant Prime Minister.
The US Military Presence expands operations…
I should really mention that at this time the US Military had a semi-presence in Greece following tithe occupation by the Germans during WWII. The Hassani Airport as it was known at the time became a base of operations in order to help facilitate the Marshall Plan; bringing aid to Greece and Turkey. In 1954 with the end of the Marshall Plan, the US Military assigned the 7206th Air Base Group to the airport. Just two years later in 1956 civilian air traffic returned to the airport and was renamed Athenai International Airport. The US was granted a small piece of the airport for its use in deploying the 6916th Security Squadron. I am not going to get into their function, much of which was highly classified as Top Secret at the time. Needless to say, I will talk about this in a future article about my service and being stationed there. The US portion of the airport was renamed Hellenikon, AB in 1976. This was five years before Andreas Papandreou became Prime Minister of Greece.
The fall of the first Papandreou…
During the early years of the 1960′s the Prime Minster George Papandreou was very out spoken about the increasingly expanding US Military presence in the country, and remained neutral of the politics involving the Cold War. Mentioned earlier Papandreou was a member Venizelism movement which openly opposed the Monarchy. His open policies against the monarchy; run by the 25 year old King Constantine II, his son Andreas sudden rise to become the new leader of the left wing, as well as his son Andreas purported involvement in the “ASPIDA” scandal led to his resignation in 1965. The ASPIDA was a secret organization that sought to place individuals in power despite any merits to fulfill the position.
The Apostasia…
For the next two years from 1965 to 1967 Greece basically had no government what so ever. King Constantine II tried over and over again with five attempts to form a government. Elections were again scheduled for May 1967. One of the biggest fears at the time was that Andreas Papandreou along with his left wing would cause a constitutional crisis, and his father George Papandreou would again be elected. In fact according to some sources the US was also very concerned that Andreas would end up playing a very large role in the new government. The pressure was mounting from the Communist at this time. Finally, under the disguise that the country was about to be taken over by communist and just weeks before the new elections the May 1967 a coup d’état took place. A military regime was formed known as the, “Regime of the Colonels”. Many believe yet still to this day that our own CIA played a key role in the coup. There is however no doubt that the US knew of the intended coup days before it happened, being informed by the leading Greek military officers.
The Dictators…
George Papadopoulos was the main General behind the coup along with two other Generals. The first order of business was to begin arresting the members of the left wing; including George Papandreou who was placed under house arrest and died in 1968. His son Andreas was imprisoned, along with 1,000′s of other people arrested under the regime. Andreas with the aid of many in the US was eventually freed and moved to Sweden. Eventually even the King was forced to flee the country leaving the new military regime with full power. Papadopoulos was appointed Prime Minister and the seven year rule of the “Police State” had taken hold. Throughout the next seven years the people of Greece endured a country deprived of many Human Rights. The regime would announce new orders over loud speakers, most starting with, “We decide and we order”. Just five months after the take over many countries in Europe were demanding the Human Rights Commission get involved.
Torture was used to suppress free speech and gatherings were prohibited. Violators of the new laws were subject to punishment such as:
Note: The above torture methods were extracted from Wikipedia with out editing.
US Policy towards the regime was supportive at the time and the regime was considered an ally, due largely to the fact that we were in a cold war with the Soviet Union and the military regime could not stand communism. The US Military presence at AIA grew ignorantly during this period, supporting reconnaissance flights over the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East. Naturally in order to advance US policy during the Cold War the US Government turned a blind eye to the people of Greece. This attitude by the US spurred anti-americanism from the people of Greece.
A Failed Coup – and the Turkish Invasion…
In 1974 a military coup was attempted on the island of Cyprus, resulting in a Turkish invasion. While on the main land an uprising at the Athens Polytechnic all lead to the fall of the regime. The Turkish invasion ended with Cyprus being divided by the Green line which is still monitored by NATO today. I can tell you first hand that the fact that the US did not intervene to stop the invasion left a very sour taste in the mouths of many Greeks. I personally know many Greeks and have been friends with them for over 20 years, this simply added to more anti-americanism in the country. The rule of “The Generals” ended with the appointment of a former Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis in 1974. Karamanlis legalized the old Communist Party, the KKE and formed the New Democracy Party.
During the period of the regime Andreas Papandreou was traveling the world as the leader of Pan-Hellenic Liberation Movement (PAK), garnering support against the regime. In 1974 at a meeting in Switzerland he along with other leaders of the movement disbanded and he returned to Greece.
The second coming of Andreas Papandreou…
Andreas was back in the public eye in his home land of Greece. Upon his return he formed the new PASOK Party, Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement. He was joined by his friends from PAK and other small parties that were opposed to the old military regime. Andreas also testified at the trials of that surrounded the regime and openly defied the US Government and the CIA’s role in the coup.
The following four years saw Andreas speaking out vehemently against the American presence at the International Airport, the US involvement in the coup and the lack of equality between the different classes within the Greek society. I wonder if any of this now starts to sound familiar. In the October 1981 elections, just over 30 years ago his PASOK Party would win a landslide victory. Andreas Papandreou became the first socialist Prime Minister of Greece. In November of 2008, just over 30 years from Andrea’s landslide victory another social movement finally succeeded in gaining power. This time is was not a foreign country but right here at home with the election of Barrack Hussein Obama.
During Andreas’ campaign he preached the withdrawal from NATO, the closing of the American AB which was now know as Hellenikon, AB. as well as several other reforms. Despite his campaign promises Andreas backed away from his campaign rhetoric and took a more conservative stance in governing. He did not withdrawal from NATO, he did not close Hellenikon, AB but what he did do may shock you in its direct correlation to what we have seen in this country the last 3 years.
Papandreou implemented wide and stretching social reform, resulting in a state dependent on welfare. He instituted social programs such as a Nationally run Health Care system, he introduced “Wealth Distribution”, raising wages for the lower class while at the same time adjusting pensions by indexing for the wealthier individuals. One thing about Papandreou he was a great speaker, even with no teleprompter technology at the time. He was able to garner considerable aid from around the European Union to pay for his reforms. The bill always has to be paid at some point…
I was there in from 1981 – 1984; I rented from a Greek landlord who continually complained that nobody wanted to work. Hellenikon, AB was probably the largest employer of Greeks in the metropolitan area of Athens. I worked in Security and I was responsible for entry into the base. On numerous occasions the base workers staged protest at the main gate, burning American flags, and demanding more pay. In fact the majority of these protest were incited a backed by the Communist Party, the KKE. They actually had a headquarters building within a stones throw of the main gate. Protesters on one occasion stopped the pregnant wife of a service member pushing her to the ground. There were bombings in Glyfada at the Voula Beach Officers Club. You think there was any anti-americanism within the country? I’m going to save the good stuff for an article about my military service while stationed at Hellenikon.
Andreas Papandreou easily won re-election in 1985. He continued to spend the country into oblivion while at the same time giving the people the social reforms they wanted; he instituted civil marriages, adultery became legal, students elected their own professors, the PASOK party even took all the property owned by the Greek Church. The majority of Greeks were very happy, and why shouldn’t they be, they were being governed by a socialist that was willing and determined to provide for all their needs an imprisoned them through the dependency on government. Compared to the regime of “The Generals”, he offered every thing they never had. They weren’t worried about the mounting debt, just as so many Americans in this country are not worried. They see today as what is most important, without any regard for the generations that will follow them. Heck, why should we care about people who aren’t even born yet right. Let them figure it out. Well that time has come for Greece.
In 1988 controversy surrounded Papandreou once again, and it was not his first time where he was involved in a Bank Scandal. In 1989 he was indicted by parliament for his purported participation in the Koskotas scandal, which involved the redirection of funds from state run corporations to the Bank of Crete, at which point the interest was skimmed in order to support his PASOK Party. He was eventually cleared of wrong doing in 1992, but not until his wife divorced him. The election of 1989 saw his party lose the popular vote, however in 1988 the Papandreou government and PASOK Party had changed the electoral law. Do you think they foresaw what was coming in the next year? From 1989 through 1990 Greece went through three actions before Papandreou finally lost to Constantine Mitsotakis of the New Democratic Party. The actually hated one another. Mitsotakis was an original member of Andreas father Georges Center Union Party in the 1960′s. Mitsotakis however was the leader of the dissidents known as the Apostates that brought down George Papandreou’s in 1965.
Mitsotakis was the complete opposite of Andreas, cutting government spending every where he could, which was not going to sit well with the people after 9 years of government subsidies. In addition Mitsotakis made private the state run corporations that Andreas had created. He also repealed the electoral law conceived by the PASOK party during the previous three elections. Mitsotakis was the first Greek Minister to visit the United States in 26 years; he also re-opened talks to keep Hellenikon, AB open.
In the 1993 election after Andreas Papandreou had been cleared of any wrong doing he became Prime Minister again. The people had spoken, they wanted to return to the welfare state they once had just three years prior. Papandreou’s return to politics was short lived; failing health resulted in his retirement in 1996. The majority of damage had already been done to the economy, and the people of Greece. The nine years of non-stop spending without increasing revenues had already determined the future of the country. Papandreou died in the summer of 1996. He is still today one of if not the most popular Prime Ministers in the history of Greece. He was independent in his thinking, he was not afraid to say no to America, he brought the country together again after its Civil War.
After Andreas Papandreou…
Costas Simitis took over as Prime Minister in 1996. He too was a member of the PASOK Party. Simitis stayed in power for eight years. During his term he took a different approach than his predecessor. He concentrated on public investment and infrastructure. When I was stationed in Greece during the early years of Andrea’s government I was astounded by the number of building structures that were just sitting there. They were nothing but concrete walls with no workers what so ever. Actually I can’t recall anything being completed construction wise while I was there.
Simitis had already said he would not run for re-election in 2004, the people figured he was just saying that because he knew he would be defeated in the up coming election. Another Papandreou was stepping into the spot light, George Papandreou took over as leader of the then feigning PASOK Party. The election of 2004 saw the defeat of the PASOK Party and the conservative New Democracy Party led by Kostas Karamanlis won the election. Karamanlis remained as Prime Minister from 2004 – 2009. He failed to correct Greece’s financial woes which were so deeply involved in corruption, falsified documents, and a people that were loosing patience. What do I think? I believe the people of Greece were just as mush at fault for the financial crisis, they allowed themselves to be lulled into a stupor like that of a drunken sailor on shore leave. The generous policies of the socialist Papandreou government that led them down the path of a welfare state was now rearing its head as the country was collapsing amongst more unrest, riots and more scrutiny from the EU.
So what do you think the people did to try and solve their problems? That’s right they elected another Papandreou; the son of Andreas, George Papandreou. The new George took office in 2009 and immediately announced to the world that Greece’s budget and deficit woes were much larger than had the world had previously been led to believe. Greece was literally falling apart from the seams. He immediately began to raise taxes on the people while eliminating social welfare programs that the people had become accustomed to. Tax evasion had been a major problem in Greece for many years and measures were taken to put an end to the loop holes. Nationwide strikes became an every day event around the country; Athens saw numbers in the hundreds of thousands. In early spring of this year over 3/4 of the Greek people had lost all confidence in the ability of the younger George to help them out of the problems that his father and grandfather had created before him.
The Real Democracy Now! Was the major force behind all the protesting. Any similarities here with the TEA Party movement in our own country? Let’s just say that the Real Democracy is a grass roots movement of the ordinary citizens of Greece, they protest peacefully, they write about their meetings so other citizens can stay informed. The movement is also NOT affiliated with any party. “It functions as a platform for the exchange of ideas as well as a way in which its members, known as the “indignants”, show their disapproval and rejection of the current political status quo of two major parties exchanging power between themselves.”
Now if this not sound exactly like the Tea Party movement here in this country than I don’t know what does. The similarities between the Papandreou PASOK, Socialist Party and our current administration are uncanny. The new movements are clearly similar. The biggest difference is that we may still have time to STOP IT! It took 30 years for the welfare policies of Greece to bankrupt the nation. The policies made by our current administration can still be undone and very well they should be. History is the best teacher of portraying the future for mankind.
2012 is a decision of a life time for America as we know it. Do I have an answer? No, except for we need a Real Change of direction and a real referendum to follow the true path that formed our constitutional ideology if we are to avoid the same type of collapse. The way to prosperity may vary well hurt many Americans in the short term, but it will ensure the prosperity of this country for our children, our grand children and the future generations of this land we call America. Many have died for our Flag and Country, many more will volunteer to replace them, and it’s what makes this country so different than any other country on this earth.
Vote to put America on the path to freedom for all people, freedom from government dominance, freedom to choose your own path in life, and the freedom to once again to be a people under One Nation under God and Indivisible.
Research for this article was derived from the sources at Wikpedia.