Round One

Round one was not good. Round one probably goes to the Troika. At the end of it, we were not even able to make a common statement about the agreed positions that would constitute the basis for further discussions. Round one is basically prolonging the requirement that Greece maintains a good joggling posture in this negotiation process and in the balance of available choices. That is not good either. It is like asking an acrobat who is trying to balance on a rope 20 ft. high above the ground to uphold his balance for much longer. Chances are that the body will get tired, the mind will lose focus and concentration. If you have decided to go for an acrobatic act you need to measure your endurance well before you begin the act. Because even if you have trained for it for a long time, it is a whole different ball game, if you need to stay in position for a split second or for hours, days or months. And once you are in the act, the act cannot change. For if it changes it automatically ends the game. You need a clear mind and a clear path forward. You need a well thought-through plan from which you will not deviate. Your plan needs to be specific down to the last detail of it. Invoking a greater humanitarian crisis as an act of extraordinary circumstances does not relieve you from the obligation to have a good plan. Your plan needs to be realistic and it needs to be founded on solid sense. It should not be based on a shifting logic that adapts itself to exit polls and popularity contests. Highlighting the problem does not equal offering the solution. We know what did not work, we need to evaluate better what could. These are all things that require certain comfort in their handling and definitely prior experience. Good intentions, though welcome, do not safeguard either proper handling of the tasks at hand or a good understanding of the gameplay. A friend said that we have seen the flip side of the coin and it has not led anywhere. True, that we have seen. And while we thought that their more streamlined stance would improve things it clearly hasn't. But what it did is that it led to the loss of some type of sovereign right. And my question is simple. How much more can we afford to lose by allowing our political staff to be taught expensive lessons in politics paid with the currency called sovereignty?