NYT: Greece Abandons Euro, Military Takes Over

NYT: Greece Abandons Euro, Military Takes Over







Slowly I have to start worrying that London is not a healthy place to live in. It’s maybe the notorious fog that makes people’s brains match or the smile of Kate Middleton [ Prince William's wife] that blends people’s senses and clear thoughts. Not to mention the scary mysteries Sherlock Holmes had to solve. And there, in the dark, abandoned and foggy streets of London, New York Times correspondent sat down in an attic and under the candle light wove a horror scenario: One night the Greek PM announces the country abandons the Euro and it returns to drachma. The next morning, angry and wild Greeks storm the banks and the military takes over! Huh! When NYT’s correspondent typed the full-stop at the end of his last sentence, he submitted to his employer. Both must have been really desperate. The employer, because he needs a catchy story to increase sales; the employee, because he needs a catchy story to boost his position or because he has run out of stories and the employer threatens him with a fat “You are fired!”

When fantasy intermingles with journalism the result can be extremely dangerous, I dare say, Lov’!

Here is the NYT’s scenario:

Pondering a Dire Day: Leaving the Euro

It would be Europe’s worst nightmare: after weeks of rumors, the Greek prime minister announces late on a Saturday night that the country will abandon the euro currency and return to the drachma.
Instead of business as usual on Monday morning, lines of angry Greeks form at the shuttered doors of the country’s banks, trying to get at their frozen deposits. The drachma’s value plummets more than 60 percent against the euro, and prices soar at the few shops willing to open.



Soon, the country’s international credit lines are cut after Greece, as part of the prime minister’s move, defaults on its debt.

As the country descends into chaos, the military seizes control of the government.

This scary chain of events might never come to pass. But the danger that Greece or some other deeply damaged country in the euro zone could leave the single-currency union can no longer be ruled out. And it was largely this prospect that drove leaders last week to agree to adopt strict fiscal rules that they hope will wrap the 17 European Union nations that use the euro into an even tighter embrace. (New York Times )