First World Mess

Greece is in bad shape.   It is a very small country, with only 11 Million, at most with a very fractured political and civil society.  It is next to a much larger, richer and more dynamic country (Turkey) that happens to be occupying a history Greek homeland and is veiwed by Greeks as it’s nemesis.  It is a country ripe with conspiracy theories and suspicion of what it calls “the West.”  In many ways it has more in common with its neighbors on the southeastern shores of the Med.   It’s political culture is completely corrupt.

As one conservative newspaper put it:

“This is a country with a state that is in a shambles, a police force in disarray, mediocre universities that serve as hotbeds of rage instead of knowledge and a shattered health care system. It is also on the brink of financial ruin.”

I highly doubt that Greece will still be part of the EMU by 2013.  It’s best hope would be to tie its fate with its dynamic neighbor, but alas, I don’t see that happening.  Down the road, though, don’t be surprised if Turkey has a growing sphere of influence in the Eastern Med.