Does Greece Have The “Equipment”?

 I just came across this letter to the editor in Tuesday’s FT from my former colleague, John Orth:

Have the Greeks got what it takes?

Published: August 3 2010 03:21 | Last updated: August 3 2010 03:21

From Prof John V. Orth.

Sir, The illustration that accompanied your Analysis of Greece’s efforts at economic reform (“A marathon to sprint”, July 30) showed ancient Greek athletes with their genitals airbrushed away. Was this choice of illustration by any chance a pictorial comment on whether the current Greek government has the equipment necessary to bring about the needed changes?

 

John V. Orth,

Professor of Law,

University of North Carolina,

Chapel Hill, NC, US

I knew that there was a reason I always liked John.

Image source:  FT

Caption: Olympian challenge: an illustration from Victor Duruy’s 19th century ‘History of Greece’. Athens is today engaged in a race to bring its closed economy into the 21st century

Comments

[Joe]

Ouch. That's a really direct commentary on how he feels about Greece!

[Chaim]

If that statement were made in reference to an Israeli economic or political situation, it would likely be deemed anti-Semitic. Ms. Krawiec's posts have been quite insulting to Greeks and the Greek nation and history, and her frequent ad hominin attacks reveal her failure to understand or comprehend the complexity of the Greek economic situation. They are, furthermore, a testament to her lack of intellectual vigor.