Greece has been sacrificed on the altar of the failed euro experiment

 

By Nigel Farage, Ukip Leader 11:48AM BST 07 Jun 2013

An IMF report proves that British taxpayers' money was used to back a coup against the Greek people, says Nigel Farage.

Dreams have been destroyed, a future mortgaged Photo: Getty

In June 2011, I stood in front of the assembled ranks of Eurocrats – Barrosso et al – with a copy of the IMF charter in my hand and read it out. The IMF expressly rejects the idea of supporting currencies; it is there instead to support countries.

Now, exactly two years later, we find that the IMF – with the support of the political establishment of the European Union, including our own George Osborne and David Cameron – was preparing to gamble billions of pounds on a lie.

This gamble has resulted in liabilities being run up that will take generations to pay back. It has resulted in the destruction of millions of lives and the colonial depredation of a once-proud nation.

Greece has been sacrificed on the altar of the failed euro experiment, its business community decimated, its families driven to penury, its suicide rate through the roof (up more than 40 per cent over the period of the crisis). Unemployment in the strike country has quadrupled, and youth unemployment is now at 64%. Dreams have been destroyed, a future mortgaged – and hopes left rotting in untended olive groves.

What has happened is nothing so much as the desperate play of an ancient regime, throwing a loaded dice at a Versailles gaming table, hoping against hope that for once the numbers will come up. They never did; they haven’t now.

 

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According to the IMF report published this week, of the four criteria that they set themselves as to whether a bailout is acceptable, the bailout clearly failed on one of those, and they say with hindsight it should have failed on two more. In bald figures, Greece was needful of seven times the IMF-imposed quote. A staggering amount.

And as to British money in this venal, below-the-counter deal? This is what the Chancellor said: "The IMF contributing money to the euro zone bailout fund? No. And Britain contributing money to the euro zone bailout fund? No. That is Britain’s clear position.”

Except, of course, we now learn that the IMF was well aware at the time that the money was to be used to bail out the euro, the euro zone, and not to support the country of Greece.

I am not sure how Mr Osborne will try to wriggle out of this; maybe he will try to use the defence of hindsight. The problem with that is that there were plenty of people at the time making it very clear that they knew that this was a breach of the IMF rules, even on his own backbenches.

Maybe he was stuffing wax into his ears at the time, or maybe he was just being economical with the communiqué.

The tragedy of all this dishonesty is that it has failed. It has in no way helped the Greeks, and has merely extended the pain and the trauma. It has resulted in the overthrow of good sense, and of democracy. There is a chilling passage in the IMF report that shows in simple language the effect of all this on the basic principles of democracy and good governance.

“As 2011 progressed, a Greek euro exit became a serious possibility particularly after being discussed by euro leaders at the Cannes summit in November 2011. The government then announced a referendum to test the views of the Greek people. This was subsequently cancelled, but the government resigned later that month and was replaced by a technocratic government. “

What we saw here was a coup, against the Greek people, a coup orchestrated with our connivance and backed by our money.

Nigel Farage is Ukip Leader and MEP for the South East Counties

Greece has been sacrificed on the altar of the failed euro experiment - Telegraph