To say that Jeroen Dijsselbloem has not many fans in Greece, would be the definition of understatement.
The head of the Eurogroup represents everything that Greek people can’t quite relate to. The Calvinist dogma of total depravity and limited atonement, which stands at the core of austerity, as championed by the Eurogroup doesn’t sit well with Greeks. Which is why many cheered when Yanis Varoufakis publicly humiliated the Dutch finance minister, in a now seemingly distant incident that made such noise, in 2015.
Not everyone cheered, of course.
There are those who took the Eurogroup head’s side, cheering ‘Hang in, Jeroen’ (it sounds much better in Greek, the alliteration making it almost poetic, like a hothead sports fan’s chanting).
These people – let’s call them ‘extreme centrists’ – went on to agree with Mr Dijsselbloem’s now infamous statement to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in which he said: “During the crisis of the euro, the countries of the north have shown solidarity with the countries affected by the crisis. As a Social Democrat, I attribute exceptional importance to solidarity. [But] you also have obligations. You can not spend all the money on drinks and women and then ask for help.”
“He’s right”, the extreme centrist Greek chorus chanted, themselves perpetuating the stereotype of the greedy, lazy Greek bludgers. “What’s wrong with what he said? Isn’t it true that our farmers spent subsidies on bouzoukia and Bulgarian strippers?”
Well, is it?
The question is absolutely valid. The stories are out there. Anecdotes of farmers relying on the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy partying all night, spending extravagant sums on callgirls, creating a demand that practically turned rural Greece to a fertile ground for trafficking from the Balkans.
But a valid question calls for an equally valid, serious answer based on facts, not anecdotes.
Under his capacity as head of the head of the Eurozone’s finance ministers, he is in a position to back up his statement with facts. What’s more important, he has the obligation to know exactly how much the EU has spent on each member country, as part of the various funding programs, and exactly how these funds have been used by member-states.
Of course, each member-state, for its part, should also be in a position to know exactly what happened.
So, if we’re about to go on dismissing countries, professions, parts of the population, economy sectors, let’s talk numbers. If we’re not able to do this, then we reduce public discourse to inconsequential banter, of the kind usually heard in Greek cafeterias and – especially – taxis.
And this is why Dijsselbloem’s remark is unacceptable: because his role as Eurogroup head is to rise above this ‘happy hour’ banter and keep a level of professionalism and ethical conduct that goes with the title. He should be careful when speaking in public.
And let’s not start with the amount of sexism he managed to cram into this careless, irresponsible aphorism. Spending money “on women”? What kind of ignorant anger and misogyny lurks behind this statement?
As for those echoing his remarks in Greece, they are just sad excuses for citizens.
Worst of all, they have bought into the total depravity and limited atonement notion that sees Greeks as a people comprised of sinners who should pay for their sins.
This is what happens when theology is mixed with politics and economy.
But then again, what is the belief in austerity, ‘structural reforms’ and ‘the invisible hand of the market’ if not pure religion?
