Sold to the highest bidder

**Greece’s youth of today are slowly waking up to the realisation that they are fast becoming a ‘lost generation’.** 2012 has seen the country record its sixth consecutive year of negative real GDP growth. The most recent figures show that unemployment has engulfed one in four of the workforce, with youth unemployment estimated at a staggering 55.4 percent – the highest in the EU.

The mainstream view stresses state failure as the principal reason behind Greece’s nadir. Many note how widespread inefficiencies have hampered the Greek economy, and claim that in order to regain competitiveness, there must be a reversal of the trends that have characterised former profligate state governance. Flexible labour markets, privatisation of state assets and deep cuts in government expenditure are all seen as crucial elements in eliminating the budget deficit and getting markets back on side.

The flip side is that the austerity measures being imposed upon Greece by the “Troika” (a triumvirate of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) are, without doubt, the main agent behind Greece’s prolonged depression. Furthermore, politicians and the media alike have compounded the uncertainty surrounding a potential ‘Grexit’, leaving Greeks paralysed with fear. Whilst billions of euros worth of bailout funds are keeping Greece on life support, the Troika have begun ‘operating’ in earnest to fundamentally shake up the underlying structure of Greek society.

In an attempt to replenish state coffers and to attract foreign investment, the country has agreed to raise around €19 billion by 2015 by carrying out an ambitious privatisation programme. Spanning rail and road transport, airports and ports, through to utilities, everything that could possibly be valued in monetary terms has been put up for sale.

{{quote Everything that can be valued in monetary terms has been put up for sale }}

One noteworthy example involves the Chinese government-owned global shipping company Cosco, which in 2010 leased half of the port of Piraeus in a deal that transferred $647 million into the Greece’s cash-strapped public purse. Since then, Cosco’s portion of the port has outperformed its Greek counterpart. Although profit margins are still thin, the company is re-investing large sums of money into the port and transforming it into the hotbed of competitiveness that is so often associated with ruthlessly efficient Chinese capitalism.

If one considers the wider picture however, it is clear that the government’s privatisation initiative is based on far more than just a programme of fiscal consolidation. Privatisation combined with austerity measures have so far failed to cut an unsustainable level of government debt which is still increasing, albeit at a diminishing rate. In fact, it is estimated that Greece’s debt will peak at 192 per cent of GDP in 2014. Even if the fire-sale of assets were to raise €19 billion by 2015 as planned, the effect would be negligible.

Instead, we bear witness to a shift towards an ideology that favours capital over labour. As unemployment levels reach a record high, wages and living standards are plummeting., with labour unions becoming increasingly fragmented. As such, Cosco and its subcontractors are tapping into a pool of unskilled, non-unionised workers where the cost of labour has hit rock-bottom. A new ‘Special Economic Zone’ is emerging in geographically strategic Southern Europe, as transnational corporations seek out flexible labour markets and lax regulations to cut costs and maintain profits in appeasement of shareholders and markets.

In the long-run, widespread privatisation could revitalise a nation bursting with untapped potential. Questions remain, however, over the morality of reverting to a model of capitalism that was long believed to be inferior to the welfare states of Europe.

For now at least, Greece’s head remains above water. When, and if, it emerges it will be completely unrecognisable.