UK 18:52 Friday, 23 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Some folk say that it is better to travel than to arrive. I guess they have never travelled on a 5.45 AM Easyjet flight from Gatwick. But my first sight in Greece was a pure delight. I was wandering from the plane into the terminal behind this stunning Greek goddess wearing a light but long skirt. Suddenly a gust of wind caught her skirt blowing it right up above her waist. Little was left to the imagination. Okay that is not true - I imagined away. Sadly I have no photo of this daughter of Athena. But now in the centre of Athens I bring you the first poverty porn.
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Comments
Gateway
Great to hear your views first-hand from the street Tom – keep us updated, whatever happens it’s going to be a momentous few days.
Phil
Well that’s it fellas, there is your future if you stay in this colonial EU. Do what we did, accept colonial servitude or go bankrupt. We chose bankruptcy, well why not. The old colonial had bankrupted us years ago.
But that is what you did. Choosing Freedom in WW2 bankrupted you. Choosing Freedom always does
In 1981 Greece had some wealth, not much but some. I have lived in Greece before 1981 (Piraeus), so I know that. Now she is busted. Some wealth creator eh.
J P Spaghetti
This really moved me
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/greek-debt-crisis-the-photograph-that-conveys-the-despair-of-greeces-elderly/ar-AAcvjda
What an utter disgrace – I’m now thinking of becoming a card carrying commie (though one who agrees with the principles of free speech – principles, mind)!
Malcolm Stacey
I am proud of this illustrious website. It actually sends its own correspondent to Athens to be at the heart of the Greek problem, which affects share holders everywhere. How many financial websites are doing that? It almost makes the BBC and ITV news redundant in the future because I would much rather trust Tom’s reportage and views than sensation-seeking broadcasters.
nigel somerville
Absolutely, Malcolm. And is it not something to have our man on the spot, who knows the history, understands the economics and can tell the difference between fact and opinion?
As for those corrupt Eurocrats who, according to the Torygraph this eve, suppressed the IMF report which had concluded that Greece needed debt relief/forgiveness and tried to blame Tsipras for the current impasse….perhaps a greater good just might come of this mess.
David Atherton
If they vote to leave the EZ, then they are as stupid as when they voted these Commies in.
Colins2
DA, Do you have any reasoning to add?
Whether one agrees with TW, or not, he at least has local knowledge and experience and fully explains his stance on the subject. You, on the other hand, offer no explanation for your opinion.
David Atherton
COLINS2 Maybe I was a bit brief and sounded harsh.
Much as it is great shame that the incompetent Greek politicians have put the ordinary people in this situation, the current situation all stems from them voting in Syriza on 25th Jan. It would have been like us voting for the Greens, or the Socialist Worker’s Party or something and then complaining when they ruined the country.
I see Greece today as similar to Britain in the “winter of discontent” in 1978, when the country started to fall apart because of the protection of vested interests. Greece desperately needs a centre-right government which is committed to smashing those cartels and patronage practices, to allow meritocratic social mobility to the young, and to remove barriers to business expansion.
Greece has a chance because within the EU, they are forced to follow EU competition directives and the like, the approximate framework of the more successful countries in the EU. More importantly, it means that the country and it’s businesses can borrow at normal interest rates, and EU law encourages inward investment.
The GDP per capita of Greece, even after all this is $23,710, comparable to the only other Balkan EZ member Slovenia at $22,830. In contrast Croatia ($13,994) and Serbia ($13329) are 40% lower, and the other Balkan states are much lower than that, ie Albania ($5261) and Montenegro ($7919). This gives you an idea of the likely level of devaluation if the Greeks choose to go it alone. Every imported item (including transport) could double in price. A lot more austerity than they are facing now.
The ordinary Greek may not be an economist, but as all this can be summed up in a single word “yes”, I do hope that the heart doesn’t rule the head on Sunday. Which is a more polite way of standing by my original comment.