One hopes that yesterday's compromise solution to the Greek conundrum will calm things down a bit, so that the real work of domestic restructuring, both in the economy and much more importantly in the collective mind here, may begin in earnest.
For it is obvious that this is not the end of things, but rather the beginning of a very tortuous and painful beginning.

There was a general sigh of relief that Europe finally decided to spell out in concrete terms how a Greek insolvency will be avoided. But I am afraid that the motivation for this was not at all innocent. The great danger lurking in the rescue now hypothetically achieved is that the local criminal elites that wrecked the ship of state to begin with will interpret the new situation as simply a license to continue with their nefarious activities.

Stringent measures have been indeed adopted and signed into law, but laws in Greece are usually not worth the paper they are written on. Some people, notably the prime minister and his finance minister, may sincerely intend to carry out a thorough overhaul of public finances and the wider economic system, but unfortunately they do not dispose of an efficient apparatus to put into effect the necessary surgical operation.

The civil service at all levels is so thoroughly rotten that they can very easily sabotage any or all of the decisions taken at the highest level. The greater part of the government itself is dead set against the measures adopted under pressure from the EU. They may pay lip service to the need for a drastic change of course with respect to the hydrocephaly of the public sector, but under their breath they pray for the opposite.

There have been in recent days some very disturbing signs of this attitude, notably outrageous decisions concerning defense outlays to the tune of 1.5 billion euros (!!!) even in the midst of the budget meltdown. The vile scoundrels of the so called "press" have been raising a mighty fuss about the activities of the Turkish navy in the Aegean at the same time as they have been stoking their sick propaganda war against Germany.

It is impossible to see how the operations of the ministry of defense comply with general economic policy at this critical juncture, unless one -in conspiracy theory mode- assumes that the purchase of German submarines and frigates for the above-mentioned stupendous sum was nothing short of a bribe to our mighty ally to unlock their consent to a financial bail out even under their stringent terms. In addition, the heightened tensions in the Aegean may also have their causes in internal Turkish politics and the current tug of war between the generals and the Islamist governnment. In this mighty tangle it is very difficult to find straight, or even tolerably convoluted, causal associations.

But, to narrow our scope to yesterday's events in Brussels, the sad fact one may bank on is that the personnel in charge of the Greek state will do their utmost to frustrate any change in how this rickety and oppressive contraption operates. This apparatus is so putrescent in all respects (in terms of administrative and even basic mental competence, not to speak of elementary moral disposition) that one can be sure that they will fight tooth and nail to preserve their anti-social privileges, all the while brandishing the standard of "anti-imperialism" as is their time hallowed wont.

The mildly encouraging difference now is that they have been found out on the wider European plane, and that as a consequence Europe may not any longer tolerate their devouring of European funds to build their palatial residences (of excruciatingly bad taste) and to buy their Porsches. But even on that score one cannot be overly optimistic, for the flabby Eurocrats of the Barroso type were clearly aware of the orgy of thievery going on for decades and chose to turn a blind eye.

These objective circumstances alone are enough to justify Germany's intransigent opposition to a concessionary line of credit to salvage the abominable Greek elites from their own foulness, as well as their insistence upon involving the IMF in a rescue of last resort under the most stringent possible controls. Merkel is right that this outcome, if assessed coolly and rationally, is the best for Greece itself first of all, and secondly for Europe and Germany. It is to be devoutly wished that it douses speculation so that the country does not have to pay punitive interest rates in the open markets, as a precondition for getting along with the extremely difficult task of internal restructuring. The prime minister has hailed it in this spirit. One can only hope that he comes back home after his hectic travels of the past few months in order to do battle not against the "evil" Germans, but against the degenerate apparatchiks in his own government, party and in the wider state administration who are plotting his demise -as well as that of the country.