As Greece once again faces a tough hurdle to cross in about 2 weeks time from now on repaying close to USD 1.8 billion to IMF, increasingly more and more voices are raising within asking it to separate from the Single Currency bloc of EU. Many of the South European countries like Italy, Spain and Portugal have often wilted under the mounting pressures of economic and other constraints imposed by EU lawmakers to be a part of their ambitious Single currency bloc with each bail out on milestone payment dates. None other than Greece has weathered this storm more often than not, more precisely from 2011.
Political parties after political parties that have projected newer leaders as the PM of the country to negotiate with EU, have only changed the names, but not the strategy yet. The fact that the tough conditions imposed by the Single currency bloc has only made Greece cry out more and more to now liberate itself from this and go back to Drachma, its original currency much devalued.
Being part of the EU and single currency, would have benefited them to get easy loans and further bailouts, but with such disparities in productivity, GDP, and fiscal discipline, largely dictated by the politico-cultural environment of the member countries like Germany, France, Netherlands and others, Greece was bound to be a black sheep all throughout.
That the realisation is only getting stronger, when it is easier for Germany to import into Greece than to compete with a devalued Drachma in a single currency environment. And the previous history of Brazil, Argentina, Russia and even India who had undergone significant transformation from a virtual bankruptcy to a thriving economy today would only add more fillip to the cause of separating out of the single currency bloc.
However, as the Syriza party and its beleaguered PM continue to battle in making changes within its own cabinet to make more pro-Euro leaders support him in bargaining with EU for a better deal to stay afloat, it will eventually hurt both sides in the long run than their respective prides in case the defaulting non-compliant member continues to stay in the bloc with even tighter conditions. Would there still be such a last minute rescue to calm the frayed nerves of the bond markets and bourses by the Bloc to push this under the carpet once more, and if so who would blink first again, is the question facing many in Europe and elsewhere in the world as they play out the deja-vu, once again this summer.
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