ATHENS, July 25 – Negotiations are set to get underway between the creditors and the Finance Ministry on Tuesday at the paper processing : technical level. 

Greece has a 3.2 billion euro bond maturing in mid-August. Newsit.gr says bridge financing is needed because the Treasury is flat out empty. And there is frustration that the creditor and Troika teams will arrive in Athens without the big shot executives.

The Financial Times found Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis : Γιώργος Σταθάκηςtries sounding hopeful:

“Greece and creditors have already found common ground on many of the key issues such as the budgetary targets, the stabilization of the banking system, liberalization of product and goods, labor market reforms and privatization.”

Well,  that should cover everything.

Gorgos continues: 

“We have three weeks and I’m hopeful that is sufficient time to complete the existing agenda. We agree in some areas. In others, there are differing opinions. But the last European Summit provided a framework that points to the direction to be followed. I believe three weeks will be enough time to work out our differences.”

There are tell tale signs of small tensions bubbling between Greece officials and creditors teams. Maximos Mansion has asked the teams not to set up shop at the Hilton Hotel near Constitution Square. It’d be better for everybody all around to just to move farther from city centre.

Newsit.gr uncovered one creditor saying the negotiating teams are sitting on their suitcases and they do not plan to return to Athens to solve problems.

The IMF’s Delia Velkouleskou : ΔΝΤ Ντέλια Βελκουλέσκου might show up in Athens on Wednesday. Christine Lagarde’s people have been complaining they do not know who in the Tsipras government they should be with working with.

And Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos : Ευκλείδης Τσακαλώτος : is not particularly helpful when he doesn’t show any effort to go fetch requested documents. He sorta thinks the process of getting this pay day loan for his country works on its own.

Euclid  has never run a business. That’s why he shows up negotiating with the titans of European finance in Brussels not wearing a tie.

Let’s explain it for Euclid:

It’s pretty simple. “Euclid, you are basically going down to the corner Easy Pay Loan Store. You should put on a coat and tie and polish your shoes. You are supposed to look like you are representing your country when you submit your loan application. Don’t just show up for your appointment – late, as usual – looking and acting like a used car salesman.

And, Euclid,  could you maybe look just a little more serious about your country’s dire circumstance? Your country would probably get more respect from the little guys processing your Easy Pay Day Loans application if you stopped shuffling around looking dazed. It’ all wearing thin to telly viewers in the lounge rooms of Europe.

Breaking News, Euclid:  There is no so-called negotiation going on now. At this stage your country is bankrupt. There’s nothing left in the piggy bank.

Nada. Zilch. 

The euro Easy Pay Day Loans store is now just filling out your last minute paper work, Euclid. Nothing else is going on. Show the little guys from Brussels some respect.

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Put On Your Game Plan

The way governments communicate these days, Euclid,  is similar to how football teams do the Pre-Game Day and Post Game press conferences.

Each day coach comes up with a narrative to match the Game Day Action Plan. It’s got to be on message.  It’s got to be full of colour and action shots to get the media guys jumping up and down so’s to get top slot on Taggeschau.

Maximos Mansion needs to get a coach to go out each Game Day and give the media guys what they want and what the Greece people need: Action.

Because Action not only sells – Action gets results.

The creditors those guys want to examine the documents at the Government Accounting Office? Well then, set up a Collection Centre with the media as witness and let media cameras capture the examiners turning in their Request Form to examine the documents.

Have a nice Greek lady and handsome Greek guy look over the Request Form and then give hand over the documents.

Don’t just do all this stuff in secret behind closed doors. That lets Angela Merkel and the creditors control the narrative. 

Euclid: You’re about to submit another request to International Finance for money? Let’s see you signing the request, explaining it with the media guys as witness. And then let’s watch you hand it over to the guy from UPS.

The way it works is Greece needs to take control of the narrative. The only way to do that is to tell a story.

Enough of just faxing stuff off to Brussels and Washington. Show some action. That IMF request you faxed off to Christine Lagarde this week?  Pretty lame.

That’s why Christine had a clerk send out five word “Don’t call us – We’ll call you.” reply .

The folks in Greece been saying they want to be in Europe. But governments in Greece operate like outposts in the Soviet Russia.

It’s about time Maximus Mansion does media the European way. With all the bells and whistles.

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Living in the Present

This week in Parliament the MPs went on for hours about the present. About the IMF, the Creditors, the Eurozone, Angela Merkel.

Nothing is heard from Parliament or Maximos Mansion about the future.

The Prime Minister has yet to go beyond being the Cheerleader of Misfortune.

So far the Tsipras government is operating pretty much as Greece governments have in the 40 years since the Collapse of the Dictatorship: Do Nothing Government.

Alexis Tsipras remains stuck in the present. The Prime Minister has not gone about putting together a team of European and North American experts to assist Greece in becoming a sustainable country.

By now Alexis Tsipras has got to recognize that more bridge loans and more unpayable debt is only going to turn on the German denominated ATMs for just one more year.

The elections are coming. The SYRIZA-ANEL coalition was forged from recognition of Greece being shackled to the going no where Eurozone Debt Machine. Alexis Tsipras was terrific at articulating that message.

As a political leader Alexis Tsipras needs going into the fall elections dropping the blame and circumstances stuff. That is so yesterday. Europe is worn out with the same old same old.

Greece has already passed by the Hope and Change sell-by-date.

Candidate Alexis Tsipras now needs to be putting together his government’s Action Plan. Because that is what real governments do at a time of national crises.

The Athens Hilton is just as good a place as any to begin rebuilding a nation.

2015-07-25