Hacker News Reader

Comment by cloudjacker | Hacker News Reader

Where have you been for the whole decade

There is no self determination possible for Greece

Why the downvotes?

"Elections change nothing. There are rules." -- Wolfgang Schäuble (in reference to the election of a Greek government in 2015)

Do you suggest the new government should be allowed to disrespect the obligations and commitments of the previous one, just because it's newly elected?

[Well, in a way, they are free to do so -- at the risk of losing every bit of credibility as a debtor... What Schäuble pointed out is: if you want more money, respect your obligations]

Absolutely it does. There are good reasons why respect for the principle of equal rights among nations is enshrined in international treaties. Germany has been the biggest benefactor of that, and a German minister shouldn't ride roughshod over the will of the people of another nation.

> at the risk of losing every bit of credibility as a debtor

This mentality about debtor and creditor nations within the EU will eventually destroy the Euro.

It is astonishingly sad to me that the country from which Democracy was exported no longer has a say (or do they?)

Greece does have a say. They can choose to secede from the EU, drop out of the Euro, and default on their debts. And then they'll have to live with the consequences. But democracy doesn't mean they can vote to force other countries to forgive their debts.

History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. Germany was in the same position wrt to the League of Nations after WWI.

> But democracy doesn't mean they can vote to force other countries to forgive their debts.

Bingo! Greece can do whatever it wants. If they want to stay in the Euro, then they can stay in the Euro but have to follow certain guidelines. If they want to do what they want to do then they can leave the Euro, but they should not complain when their overspending ways catch up to them and it all falls apart.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com