Greek government approves €96 million new Formula 1 track. Austerity?

Germany, expect the invoice in the mail soon. Greece has yet again been rescued with a huge aid package thanks to EU largess. This money should help the authorities in Athens deal with its huge debt rung up due to excess practices such as overblown investments, massive tax avoidance, government waste and a willing Germany overlooking crooked accounting practices and picking up the bill. Isn't it nice to know, and very reassuring to the diligent taxpayers of northern Europe, that the money won't be wasted this time as Greece has certainly learnt its lesson. It's now time for austerity measures in the G of the PIGS.... OK, perhaps not.

Athens daily Kathimerini reports that the Greek 'Regional,Development and Competitiveness Ministry' (hmmm... I'm sure this is just a Potemkin Village department, set up to provide the party faithful of whoever is in power with comfy, stress-free jobs) has approved plans to build a Formula 1 racing track, south of Patras in the Peloponnese. The bill.... a bargain at €94.6 million! Rest assured, the project will include buildings and facilities to support the racing track that, the ministry claims, will be 'of an international standard’. Phew, what a relief! Oh, and the tourists apparently will be flocking in droves, that is, if no general strike is on... again.

According a the study commissioned by the government department (no doubt, an expensive and prolonged one), the track 'will be able to host Formula One cars, Super bike and Go-Kart racing'. Fun!

The project is expected to be completed in 36 months (good luck!) and needs to be approved by Parliament, which is no problem because those politicians in Athens don't have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment, oh, except for that statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje, Macedonia. I mean, the nerve that a statue of an ancient Macedonian figure going up in Macedonia! This is obviously a huge issue.

"497 new job positions are expected to be created (I'd be interested in finding out how they came to such a precise figure) and [would provide a] significant boost to tourism the in the region," the statement said.

I'm sure that the protesters in Syntagma Square are thrilled to the back teeth about this latest, wise decision by a government ministry in Athens. As for names for this Formula 1 track, how about 'White Elephant'?

Desperate Dictator Housewives - Montenegro's Lidija Djukanović

Lidija (bored, left) and Milo (with cigarettes under jacket, right) Djukanović

The biggest news story at the moment in the Balkans, other than the fallout from the controversial Council of Europe report accusing Kosovo's Hashim Thaçi of being a mafia boss, has been the sudden resignation of Montenegro's president Milo Djukanović. He has been in the reigns of the tiny former Yugoslav republic in one way or another now since the late 1980s, when Djukanović along with the head of the newly-rechristened Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro(DPS - formerly the Communist Party), Momir Bulatović, close allies of Serbia's Slobodan Milošević, led the "anti-bureaucratic revolution" which was Milošević's way of flushing out all the old Yugoslav communist functionaries in Serb-majority parts of Yugoslavia with his pro-nationalist cronies. Djukanović became premier of Montenegro in 1991 at the age of 29, and was to go on to holding the post for another 3 terms, then was president from 1998 to 2002, and went back to premier from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2008 to now.

During Djukanović's rule, he has seen the country go from the loyal and junior partner to Serbia in Milosevic's 'Federal Republic of Yugoslavia', involvement in the war in neighbouring Bosnia, spared being bombed during the 1999 Nato bombings, to eventually a rather rushed independence in 2006. Though Djukanović shared Milosevic's politics and stance, in 1996 he took a turn and directed Montenegro towards the West, who were to support him and Montenegro in a push towards self-determination (Montenegro adopted the Deutschmark as its currency in 1999, despite being in a union with Serbia). In 2006, the country voted in a referendum where 55% of the population voted for independence, which was declared shortly after and quickly recognised worldwide. Since then Montenegro has been rebuilding its former vibrant tourism industry and has now been designated as an official 'EU candidate state', with strong expectations that it will follow the next new member state Croatia in joining the Union.

The Djukanović's sharing a happy moment with the boss and wife. The gals get on.

So that's the 'nice' news - the stuff much bantered in the Western (and government-controlled Montenegrin) media. But the rest of the Balkans see Montenegro and especially the system Djukanović has created in a much different way. First of all, Djukanović is amazingly rich (not a surprise for the Desperate Dictators) and it is very well known how he amassed his wealth - smuggling. Thanks to his high position, the chaos and Western-imposed sanctions on Montenegro (and Serbia), and the mountainous country's location just a quick speedboat trip across the Adriatic from Italy, Djukanović made (and rumoured to still make) a killing getting his cut from the huge amount of cigarettes (that we do know) and possibly (likely but not yet definitively proven) drugs, weapons and people trafficked through his fiefdom. This illegal trade continued even after the West started courting him as a way to get at Milošević. The disgusting thing is that the West fully knew about this (indictments have been prepared in Italy against Djukanović) but in their pursuit of getting at Milošević, they were fully prepared to turn a blind eye to it all. Ironically, with all the cigarettes passing through the country, Montenegro was the first entity in the Balkans to introduce a complete indoor smoking ban. The West seemed so prepared to protect Djukanović, a leader who would always top polls in the Balkans for the 'most corrupt politician award' in the Balkans (now that is saying something), that they even used the carrot on the Montenegrin electorate that independence would mean quicker entry into the EU for the country, which in turn was implied as immediate and immense wealth for everyone. The irony is that while one of the core EU principles is for a Europe without borders and divisions, by supporting Montenegrin independence the EU was actively campaigning for yet another border to be drawn and yet further division of the former Yugoslavia and Europe. Well, it worked.

Inhaling success

The final spark that essentially signalled the end of the short-lived union then known as 'Serbia and Montenegro' was, of all things, their selection process for their entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006. Even though there was an elaborate selection system comprising an equal amount of singers from both entities, an unwritten agreement existed whereby one year the representative will be from Serbia, the next from Montenegro. In 2005, a hastily-cobbled boy band consisting of 6 teenage boys of dubious singing talent but all sons of personal friends of Djukanović (i.e. high-ranking DPS officials) appropriately called 'No Name' sang a very Montenegrin style song at Eurovision, and whose public appearances featured a lot of Montenegrin independent posturing, even though they were ostensibly representing Serbia too. The following year it was understood that a Serbian act would then be sent. However, when it came time for the official juries from Serbia and Montenegro to vote at the final selection process, the Montenegrins gave no points to the favourite Serbian acts and instead voted en-masse 'No Name' again. The Serbian audience knew very well that what had happened was not above board, and the ensuing scandal and chaos resulted in Serbia and Montenegro having to forfeit participation. A day after the Eurovision that year, Montenegro voted in referendum on independence. As predicted, the minimum voter turnout required was just met (hmmm... ) and 55% of them voted yes for independence.

No Name... no talent

Montenegro was a smuggling conduit, though now the EU is, somewhat surprisingly, calling for the country to tackle corruption. Djukanović stepped down from the position as premier in late 2006 stating that with Montenegro's independence, his work was done. However, he resumed the position in 2008, many suspecting so as to ensure that his immunity remains, especially as Italy is breathing down his neck still.

Photo time! Wife, prez and (stuffed) ballot box

So we have a corrupt leader who seems to always win elections, but is supported by the West thus ensuring we never get to see him being associated with vote-rigging or corruption. We have the perfect conditions then for a desperate housewife. So what's the story with his wife Lidija? Well, she is a behind-the-scenes player. Her public image is one of a humble and low-profile woman who would only appear with hubby occasionally at official events, photo-ops in front of ballot boxes and front row at basketball matches featuring the local team, but there is no doubt she has a huge influence over him (Lady Macbeth again). Lidija once organised a glam charity event with the then US ambassador's wife at the swankiest hotel in Montenegro's capital Podgorica (formerly Titograd) and that's it - she never hosted another event again.

Blažo, Lidija and Milo, out for a walk in the rain

However, for a laugh, check out the fancy Montenegrin Anti-Corruption website. It claims, among other things, that in 2009 Milo Djukanović only received a wage of 1227 euros a month (up from 456 euros in 2004), Lidija gets 1419 euros a month (up from 500 euros in 2004) while their son, university student Blažo, officially gets zip. Milo has no car but Lidija sold her Peugeot 306 and has bought an Audi A3 on credit. They claim to have no savings or shares - despite it well known that Milo's brother Aco owns 47% of shares in Montenegro's biggest bank (guess how he got hold of them - thanks bro!) and Milo himself with 2.9%. I might add that this bank was 'bailed out' by the Montenegro bank, which means Milo gave loads of state money to his brother. Officially the Djukanovićs possess only one residential and two commercial properties, from which Blažo, the owner, gets 11,000 euros rent. How humble... but what a blatant lie! In the past year, Djukanović has been able through close family members to amass a fortune of 8 million euros, as reported by the Belgrade daily Blic. Its report claims that Djukanović has strong connections with underworld bosses and that Serbian officials are also quite aware that because of these links, many wanted criminals and crime bosses were able to seek sanctuary in Montenegro. However, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists' report titled 'Montenegro - Djukanović Family Business' revealed that Djukanović has 14 million euros in wealth, while his closest family members have done quite well for themselves (just like in Tunisia's case) with his sister Ana worth 3.5 million while his aforementioned brother Aco having a whopping 167 million dollars divided among stakes in 22 different companies plus prime real estate. That's a lot of cigarettes there. This report (in English) gives even further details of the level of corruption in Montenegro, all to the benefit of Milo's family.

Already parallels are being drawn with the sudden flight of Croatia's former premier Ivo Sanader recently after the Croatian parliament voted to strip him of his immunity due to confirmation from WikiLeaks-published US State Department cables that he was involved in a long-rumoured corruption deal with an Austrian bank. Croatia's president Jadranka Košor has been quick to deny any comparisons, though many are wondering what will happen to Djukanović now, especially if, likewise, his immunity is ever to be stripped? Then again, at only 49, Djukanović is still comparatively young and he has once before quit politics only to come back.

A Montenegrin magazine's not-so flattering depiction of the president's brother, Aco Djukanović

Montenegro now has the opportunity to move on from a period of its history that was identikit to most of the other former Yugoslav republics. The tired, exhausted and poor population of Montenegro does not deserve to be ruled by a corrupt family involved in organised crime that permeates into the rest of Europe who cynically exploited Montenegrin nationalism to draw attention away from their ill gains and actions. What is worse is that the West has yet again supported this! Hopefully a decent change will come now that the Djukanovićs are (publicly) moving away from high office. However, the Balkan pessimism says otherwise...

At the end of the day... saying it as it is

The US State Department cables published by Wikileaks have shown the true face behind the sweet talk and spin that characterises diplomacy and international politicis. An interesting and frank conversion was reported by the US embassy in Paris with an official of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Roland Galharague, which gives a true and blunt account about Serbia's aspirations for EU membership and Kosovo.

Historically, the French have been keen allies of the Serbs, with Jacques Chirac being initially against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, for instance. However, with Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008, France forsake Serbia's pleas and recognised the fledgling state. Despite much legal wrangling over the legitimacy of Kosovo's independence, the Serbs have found that their case being rebuked by large international organisations and legal institutions. However, as Galharague stated to the Americans, Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremic "seems to believe Serbia can win on Kosovo and win EU entry. We need to let him know this is not true". So no matter what Serbia does, it won't win anyway.

Serbia's current 'pro-western' government maintains eventual EU membership as its primary goal. However, the fact that Serbia claims Kosovo as a constituent part even though effectively it's now a separate, independent entity recognised as such by 22 out of the EU's 27 member states, and the legal ambiguity this creates, makes EU accession near impossible. In true 'carrot and stick' style, the EU superficially maintains the position that the issues of Kosovo and Serbian entry into the EU are not formally linked. However, this concept is beleived by no one, but still, rather naively, that they are fooling the Serbs nonetheleess. The State Department cable reveals that Western diplomats and Serb politicians alike know that there are no illusions. "There was no formal conditionality," Galharague said, adding that the Serbs now understand that to be a member of the EU they must eventually recognize Kosovo. "We told them we do not want another Cyprus," he explained, referring to Cyprus' controversial EU accession in 2004 as a divided island where EU legislation remains partly "suspended" in the northern part of the island which is outside of the government in Nicosia's control. Nonetheless, Galharague predicted the Serbs will likely go ahead with the U.N. resolution in any case, and the USG and the EU will be forced to oppose it.

So why do they keep on playing the public with this idea that Kosovo and EU membership are not linked when essentially they are for Serbia? Well, it's to ensure that the EU and Serbian government can impose what otherwise would be unpopular changes, all with the cynical excuse that 'this is a long-term good in preparation for EU membership'. The image is sold that EU membership will mean the dawning of an age of immense and immediate prosperity. However, the reality has shown that this is far from the case. Just ask anyone in Greece and Ireland, let alone Bulgaria and Romania as to what prosperity EU membership has bestowed them.

Nevertheless, the reality is that Serbia will not join the EU. Serbia, by its very nature and core identity cannot see Kosovo ever being separated again, even though essentially it already has. Along with this reality is Galharague's blunt but honest claim that "At the end of the day, though, Serbia must recognize Kosovo if it wants to join the EU". I can tell you now Galharague, that's just not going to happen. That's if, unless, some Serbian premier wants a bullet to his head like Zoran Djindjić.

Castro condemned for Roma Holocaust remark

Well, sorry French government but Castro is right. Obviously the truth hurts for Sarkozy's knee-jerk government when they come up with retorts of this calibre:"That Fidel Castro shows an interest in human rights is truly revolutionary."

The fact that the French government is very publicly deporting Roma from other EU countries, making a mockery of the fundamental EU right to freedom of movement, is pandering to ingrained universal prejudice towards Roma. This comes at a time when Sarkozy is languishing low in opinion polls, especially in light of failed promises of 'getting tough' on disadvantaged French youths who rioted three years. When all else fails, let's pick on the Roma.

Castro is quite justified in describing this as a 'racial holocaust' as the moves made by the current French administration is very reminiscent of the actions taken by complient Nazi puppets during World War II when the Roma were sent to the death camps such as Auschwitz and Birkenau in great numbers for much the same reasons as the Jews.

So instead of castigating Castro, Sarkozy and his ministers should devote more efforts into solving the problem rather than adding to racism, something that EU countries like France are always quick to denounce other non-EU countries of when the opportunity arises.

What I don't believe to be a coincidence is that news of French condemnation of what otherwise were previous non-newsworthy remarks by Castro have come quickly after a the revelation of a rather suspicious media 'gaffe' involving Castro. Much was made of Castro's supposed comments to US journalist Jeffrey Goldberg yesterday that he belives that the Cuban socialist system has even failed Cubans. This was a rather bizarre comment to be attributed to Castro as the US-imposed blockade is the usually main reason given by the Cuba for its economic shortcomings and not a fault of the system itself. Apparently this was a misinterpretation, and some media outlets, like the BBC, have pointed this out. However, many others have been comparatively mute about this, yet again lending to a distortion of Western public persecption. So many people out there will continue to believe that Castro is even against his own system when in actual fact he isn't. I also don't believe that this 'misinterpretation' was as 'accidental' as it has been made out to be. I believe this is Western misconception will play a dangerous role in future actions towards Cuba in the future. For instance, when the EU condemns Cuba for anything, it will be with the full-hearted blessing of the Western public because 'hey, even Castro said he doesn't like his system'.

Knowledge and awareness is strength, so a misinformed public is easier to control and manipulate.

They can pay their own debts!

Iveta Radičová, the Slovak premier, in an interview with the Athens daily Ta Nea yesterday explained why her country refused to contribute to a 110 billion euro package to save the basket case Greek economy. 'This was not a package in solidarity with the Greek people but with the banks of Europe that were responsible for the crisis in that country'. Radičová insisted that Slovakia did not violate any agreement requiring it to pay its share and that it is past, irresponsible Greek governments that are to blame for the crisis. She also went on to make the point that it would be impossible for her government to convince the Slovak public of having to pay to assist another ostensibly richer country of their recklessness when Slovaks went through greater austerity in order to achieve EU and Eurozone membership. You say it, Iveta!

Despite economic crisis, European institutions continue to grow

In a report by EUObersever, one unnamed senior EU official spoke of his frustration that while EU residents are having to face serious cuts to services, welfare and income, the number of unaccountable EU institutions continues to grow. In 2011, the administrative costs for all EU institutions will climb 4.4 percent, with the total amounting to €8.3 billion out of the bloc's budget. The cost rises from other institutions including the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the Economic and Social Committee, the European Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and the various agencies will come to 4.8 percent, with the total costs amounting to just over €3 billion. This comes at a time when most EU Member States, in particular Romania and Greece, are facing massive cuts. One of the most costly and wasteful aspects of the EU's functioning is that the French city of Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament and its secretariat is in Luxembourg, but most work is done in the parliament's buildings in Brussels. The cost of the "travelling circus" shuttling between the three cities in 2011 will come to an estimated €240 million over what would be spent for a single location. France however has consistently called the move to a single seat "non-negotiable." Best comment was that in German many EU institutions are referred to as 'Tintenburgen', or 'Ink Castles', producing a mountain of reports that few people pay any attention to. I can testify to that, and add that they are written in EU-ese versions of the 23 official languages of the Union, rendering their functionality for EU citizens completely useless.

75% of Macedonians support EU membership

Still high support, but a major drop from 89% of a few months ago. Reasons for the fall include the EU's call for a name change which would threaten national identity, frustration at the EU's double standards and increasingly slow progress, and a realisation that EU membership does not instantly or fundamentally guarantee changes in living standards, application of the rule of law, corruption or financial stability. Macedonians see that neighbouring Bulgaria's inclusion into the EU in 2007 has failed to bring much benefitial change to your average Bulgarian, nor has 30 years in the European family brought much vaunted change to wages, the rule of law, financial stability or corruption in its southern neighbour Greece. Otherwise, one of the main reasons why Macedonians want to join the EU is that they would like greater opportunity to leave the country and freely work in richer EU countries like Germany and the UK - hardly a benefit for Macedonia.

Just split!

More than a million Catalans marched in Barcelona after a Spanish court ruled that there is no legal basis for classing Catalonia as a nation.
Such developments are observed in earnest in places like ex-Yugoslavia as its quite interesting to see the different approaches taken by powerful countries and associations like the USA and EU in dealing with these issues. When a multinational, socialist country like Yugoslavia faced similar problems about individual national identity, despite some superficial show of support for maintaining unity, the West more than facilitated Yugoslavia's quick dissolution into statelets which they later could control. The latest example of this madness was when the EU, idealistically championing for the dissolution of borders and bringing Europe closer together, supported Montenegro's rapid bid for independence in 2006, leading to yet more separation and another needless border drawn in the Balkans. However, when the same problems occur in allied capitalist countries like Spain, no support is given for nations like Catalonia to declare independence, draw new borders and dissolve national unions. Again, ex-Yugoslavs see this as double standards. I didn't like how Yugoslavia had mutated into a greater Serbia by the 1980s threatening individual nations of their identities, so likewise I fully support for Spain to dissolve completely and grant independence to the separate nations of Catalonia, Euskadi and Galicia. In any case, the differences between these nations and Castillian Spain are far greater than between the ex-Yugoslav statelets. Plus, there are more Catalan speakers than there are Danish, Norwegian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Croatian, Slovenian, Estonian or Slovakian speakers. Basically, if the EU sees fit that a country of 600,000 people like Montenegro should be an independent state, then so should Catalonia, a nation of 6 million!

Greece - so cultured in the art of corruption

Here is a picture of slime. Germany is outraged, and rightfully so. Former Justice Minister under the conservative Greek government of Karamanlis, Sotiris Hatzigakis, according to German and UK media, ran up a 20 million Euro phone bill by handing out free mobile phones to family and friends, many of whom would ring premium-rate sexlines. Who pays? Well, by nature of the EU ideal of solidarity, Germany's taxpayers do (Greece don't have any). But wait, there's more. Haztigakis also renovated his 30 square metre office (the size of a garage) for the thrifty sum of 150,000 Euros, with 70,000 going to 'furniture'. As well, he opened a new state company fully financed by and tied to his Justice Ministry, which then employed 110 people, including his children and many people from his electorate. How nice! Now, to make this even more absurd is that Hatzigakis was even host and a speaker at the 13th International Anti-Corruption Conference held in Athens in 2008! He had apparently passed an anti-corruption law, but somehow it didn't seem to be applied.

Despite the EU saying that Greece is on the straight and narrow now, in reality it isn't. As a sign to the countries of the region who are fed the impression by Brussels that EU membership will miraculously facilitate an immediate change of culture and the rule of law would prevail, the reality is that 30 years of EU membership has provided no fundamental changes to the essentially Balkan and Third-World social, cultural, legal and political fabric of Greece. The justice system in Greece is extremely corrupt, as can be seen, and is also responsible for perpetuating the series of human rights abuses, ranging from ensuring minorities are denied all rights through to the police brutality and mob violence. It is a failed state and the best thing for everyone would be that Greece is expelled from the EU. It would need to reapply according to the same strict criteria now being applied to candidate states like Turkey and Macedonia. A name change would probably be necessary to remove the fake link with its namesake ancient civilisation, romatically connected to all things 'civilised' in our modern culture (purely on Euro-centric grounds), which has clouded Western perceptions of the country since the 1700s when the Orthodox Christians of Ottoman Turkey were renamed by the likes of Lord Byron from Romoi (Romans) to Ellinoi (Hellenes aka Greeks). Let's make it clear - modern Greece is no ancient Greece. But then again, the notion the West has of what constituted 'ancient Greece' is as mythical as the link to its supposed successor state.

Sofia Gay Parade held amidst threat from ultra-nationalists

700 people today marched under heavy police protection through Sofia in the third gay pride parade to be held in Bulgaria. This came amidst much public and media discussion in recent weeks after a 23 year old man was brutally attacked by Neo-Nazis in an inner Sofia park because he 'looked gay' in their self-styled campaign to 'clean the parks of abnormal people'. Despite entry into the European Union in 2007, Bulgaria still remains a socially conservative country which as one woman at the parade who was holding a placard with 'We, your mothers, support you' said: [Bulgarian] society is intolerant towards Roma, it's intolerant towards people with disablities, but differences must be accepted'. Unfortunately, a majority of Bulgarians do not share the views of this brave mother. As evident in the many comments made on forums about the gay pride parade and gay rights in Bulgaria, many Bulgarians believe that gay people are mentally sick and should see a psychologist. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, who holds considerable sway over Bulgarian society, joined other, mainly extreme right-wing, organisations in condemning the parade. Even an 'anti-parade' was held, with ultra-nationalists holding signs such as 'all abnormals go to Uganda'. On the other hand, NGOs promoting human rights and many ambassadors of western European countries publicly and prominently offered their support.

What may seem contradictory to all this is that while Bulgarian society in general is intolerant to a gay pride parade and gay people, one of the most popular singers in Bulgaria, Azis, happens to be openly gay. However, when asked about the gay pride parade, according to one Bulgarian celebrity gossip website, Azis said that he 'doesn't support such displays' as he doesn't see that it's 'proper'. He added that 'what's the point of parading when trying to promote equality, participants in the parade end up behaving like clowns'.

The big question hanging over Bulgaria is whether it is truly prepared to be a tolerant society fitting the ideals espoused by the EU. Membership into the Union ostensibly was supposed to facilitate greater tolerance in society, however in practice this may take much longer than expected.