PASS THE BAND AID...

When Eric Morecambe was asked, "What`s a Grecian urn?" he memorably replied, "About ten bob a week."   And as a result of the overnight deal between the Greek government and the Eurozone/IMF/ECB leaders, the good folk of Greece will be expected to doff their caps, bow towards Berlin and give thanks to the Gods that Eric Morecambe`s prediction has come true.

It`s really quite staggering.   £110billion to bail out the Greek economy yet again - I find it hard to even imagine a sum so large - and yet we all know in our economic hearts of hearts that this is yet another bit of political sticking plaster to ensure the Greeks can meet their debt repayments by 10 March and thus keep the Eurozone project alive.   At least for now.

I don`t think anyone with any sense of proportion or grasp of reality is in any doubt that this enormous hand out is only going to put off the day, for a few weeks or months at most, before Greece finally withdraws from the Euro and embraces the drachma like a long lost friend.   And in the meantime the Greek people are supposed to put up with yet more crippling austerity measures and having their country run by a bunch of placemen from the EU and elsewhere - another rather ironic blow for the cradle of`democracy.` 


And we all know too that even if they behave themselves and do as they`re told, it will only be after ten years of hunter-gathering before their economy is back to the unsustainable level it was a while ago. So what`s the point?

I just wonder what reaction there would have been in this country had we been subjected to the same jackboot inspired humiliation the Greeks are now supposed to put up with.   I think I know the answer. And it wouldn`t surprise me at all to see the reaction on the streets of Athens becoming yet more divisive, as the disconnect between between the Government and the governed grows ever wider. 


"What`s a Grecian urn?"   "About enough to buy a roll of Elastoplast."