By Alec Hogg
The new far left Greek Government obviously believes the saying that when you owe the bank R1m it’s your problem; but at R100m, the problem is the bank’s. Greek leader, 40 year old populist Alexis Tsipras, last night described an insistence that his nation honour repayment terms on its R3.2trn (e240bn) debt as “absurd”. This triggered an early end to negotiations that had been expected to last into the early hours.
Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a radio station: “I feel sorry for the Greeks. They have elected a Government which at the moment is acting very irresponsibly.” Consequences of leaving the Euro will introduce an entirely new level of economic pain for Greece. Yet through ignorance, arrogance or both, its leaders continue to act with drunken bravado.
All of which will be no surprise to Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman Charlie Munger. When questioned at the AGM a couple years back, he described Greece as the EU’s equivalent of “a brother-in-law in the family business who spends all day at the Country Club charging his drinks to the company’s credit card.” Munger had little doubt it would end in tears. Greece’s behaviour at the Last Chance Motel suggests Warren Buffett’s business partner was right all along.
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