Zachopoulos: What’s up doc?

December 2007:

Christos Zachopoulos, your average all-round corrupt politician and childhood friend of current PM jumps off the 4th floor to end his life in a bid to avoid embarassment about what’s about to come. He manages to survive the fall because his fat breaks the fall (seriously, I’m only objective here).

However, his jump fueled the situation and his story unfolded.

Flashback:

For years Zachopoulos has enjoyed the privilege of being secretary general of the culture ministry. The culture ministry in Greece comprises mainly of young archaelogists seeking a permanent job. Zachopoulos, being the cheeky fellow that he is, had his way with the ladies. He bedded women promising permanent jobs in the ministry.

A friend of mine in the ministry confirms this to be true and known fact for years in the archaeological circles.

The problem appeared when one of his girlfriends got fed up with waiting for the permanent position that never came (unlike Zachopoulos who did, presumably).

She used her mobile phone to record one of their sessions at his home, and as it appears the secretary general likes to brag about his powerful friends that he may have shared information about them (is it about financial scandals? or sexual? no-one knows) that he would later regret.

And then the story gets a bit gray, depending on who you choose to believe.

Most people agree that his girlfriend blackmailed Zachopoulos, although what she asked for is uknown. She copied the video to a DVD which found its way to a Greek journalist who then offerred to cover it up in exchange for protection against past sins.

However, as soon as the prosecutor started interrogating the people involved in this case, this all blew in everyone’s face.

Everyone’s?

Hardly.

Today, Zachopoulos is still “recovering” in ho, even though some reports said that he was well from the first week after his suicide attempt, and in fact away from unscrupulous journalists as he chose to continue his recovery away from Athens.  He is said to have accepted a job in a publishing house.

The journalist has lawyered up and has asked that the prosecutor be exempted from this case.

The other girls that were employed at the ministry for having sex with the secretary general? No-one even bothered with them.

And the girl that got fed up with waiting and decided to take matters into her own hands? She’s been locked up and can’t post bail.

Is she a flight risk when her face has been plastered in international media? No.

Is she a danger to society? Hardly.

Is she a danger to some pretty powerful people? You betcha.

Cadastre-ophy

In 2006, Greece was the only EU country without a Cadastre (national land plan).

The reason is that past governments misappropriated (I’m bad at spelling, is that spelt “s-t-o-l-e”?) the EU funds for this project and now the EU is not going to fund us again.

So, what does the government do? Does it launch an inquiry as to where that money is now and create a plan as to how to get it back? No, of course not.

What they do is “self-finance” the project. And by “self” I mean asking each owner €35 per property in order to register it. And if you forget to register your real estate, the fines are in the thousands of euros per case.

Let me check my world fact book for other countries where the government has asked its people for a special tax for a project that had already been financed. Nope, none.

Again, a first for Greece.

Hellenic Shipyards

Today the European Commission has asked for the return of €230 million, which was used to fund Hellenic Shipyards SA.

The reason? The funding was illegal and against the terms that the EC had set. So now we have to return it.

With about 6 million taxpayers in Greece, that’s about €40 for each and everyone of us to pay for someone taking the wrong decision and keep taking the wrong decision in 1997.

Simple as that.

Monopoly

Monopoly is actually a Greek word.

I’m not though that this can justify that so many professions insist not to have their professions opened up to pretty much anyone.

Taxi drivers, pharmacists, notaries public and as much as ten other professions are the so called “closed professions”.

Did we really have to wait for the EU to tell us to open up these job markets? Why? So that the government doesn’t look bad and claims to only do what the EU is commanding them to?

Isn’t it obvious that by opening up and regulating a market, you are bound to get a sustainable amount of people working that market?

If the market needs 50,000 cabs in Athens but only has 20,000 cabs, isn’t it obvious that the Athenians (and visitors) will be better serviced? Isn’t it obvious that this market expansion will also create diversity that will ultimately benefit the consumer through higher quality services for lower prices?

Hey, isn’t that what a free economy is all about? Wasn’t it like 250 years ago when Adam Smith established that? Do we really need someone else to tell us what’s good for us? [1, 2]

Censorship on state TV

Stelios Kouloglou is a major league reporter.

He’s one of these guys that fights for the things he believes in. He fights to get his message across to the people, and not to turn his viewership figures into expensive cars. He’s one of the good guys.

In May, the state-run TV network, ERT, announced that they would not be renewing his contract for the next season, despite the fact that his investigative reports are the ones that bring in more viewers than all others on the state network.

And we wonder…

Is it because Kouloglou highlighted President Putin’s links to the mafia and his shady political tactics the same week that our PM had a meeting with Putin? [1]

Is because the Chinese were upset with the upcoming episode that showed what China was like on the year that they were organising the Olympics?

Or was it because his upcoming reportage on G700 (the 700-euro generation) would show to the world how the government has failed the young educated people looking for work only to get a salary of 700 euros per month.

For the record, Kouloglou is now setting up an Internet TV channel [2] for his “Reportage Without Frontiers” [3] although realistically the commercial viability of such a project is a pretty slim.

High Prices

How humiliating is it when the Prime Minister of the country goes on television to ask merchants not to increase the prices of their goods?

Is this where our Fiscal Policy has come to? Begging? Did the PM really come out as saying “Please don’t make our government look helpless against price increases”?

It’s only natural, isn’t it?

When governments are elected by protecting the benefits of their electoral base, they are in effect leaving all the rest of us unprotected.

Big businesses aside, the government is protecting farmers, journalists, truckers, civil employees, and so many other professions.

Why? Because they’ve let the situation get so much out of hand that these people will not hesitate to paralyse the whole country, thinking that it’s their right that they be extra-protected unlike the rest of us.

Yesterday it was farmers who completely blocked the national motorway breaking the country in half. Today it’s the truckers who refuse to distribute fuel to petrol stations, leaving millions unable to drive to work.

Tomorrow, it can be pretty much anyone. Take your pick: doctors take bribes to perform operations in public hospitals; policemen that won’t mind overzealously beating up suspects; workers at public utilities companies that will not hesitate to cut people’s power to show they have the strength to negotiate, in order to avoid having their public organisation sold to the Germans.

Way to go!

The Siemens Case

Siemens has been bribing Greek MPs.

What a shock!

The German tax authorities spilled the beans and now we’re still looking for who got what.

The PM comes out to say that “we” have faith in the justice system. Do we? I thought faith was required for things that did not have a physical and organising way of presenting themselves. Or am I just reading between the li(n)es here?

The Press Secretary comes out to say he does not comment on “rumours” about a minister of his government to have travelled to Germany on Siemens expenses. I really have to admit that the Press Secretary is probably the smartest guy in the cabinet, I kid you not.

An MP for the opposition party came out to say he had received a one-off payment of 1 million deutsch marks (€0.5 million) back in the day, which he transferred to his party.

The main defendant in this case, the man that used to run the “money under the table” project for Siemens in Germany, said he paid no less than €5 million a year.

From €5 million a year, we only know what happened to a one-off payment of half a million?

And this is just one company that we happenned to hear about. Imagine how much money we would be talking about if we examined all suppliers for the public sector ever!

Is there a bookmaker that would be willing to accept a wager that no-one will be found guilty for bribery?