Last January Greeks elected far left Tsipras as their PM. Now to resolve Greek financial travails, caused by its earlier Socialist policies, the Tsipras government appears to be tying to get out from under by using theft and intimidation. I wonder how this will work out and if the Germans will learn any lessons from this, though their groveling and self-flagellation appears to be unending.

"Greece has threatened to seize German assets as compensation for Nazi war crimes – 70 years after the end of the Second World War.

The threat, made by the Greek justice minister and reported in the daily Kathimerini newspaper, has been supported by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who told the Greek parliament he would pursue the “very technical and sensitive” matter.

Justice minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos has reportedly called for “war reparations, the repayment of a forced loan and the return of antiquities” from Germany, and said that an old court ruling gave him the power to sanction “the foreclosure of German assets in Greece” as a form of compensation.

The issue was dismissed out of hand by Germany, with Angela Merkel’s spokesperson rejecting questions about reparations that “have been legally and politically resolved”. “We should concentrate on current issues and, hopefully, what will be a good future,” Steffen Seibert said.

“Germany is very aware of its moral obligation to keep alive the memory of Germany's guilt for the Second World War and the suffering it caused in many countries. That doesn't change anything about the legal and political assessment of the question of compensation and reparations.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...s-10101329.html

It is never wise to be successful in a world where collectivism is the dominant spirit.

Too bad the German armed forces have been neutered. They rolled over the Greeks in less than a month last time.

OK, I'm far from an expert on this, but the way I understand it, the Germans want to keep the Greeks in, so to keep the Euro down in order to support their export economy. The Greeks might be well advised to take it and shut up. But, their left-leaning elected government will take them farther and farther away from an acceptable level of belt-tightening, making it harder and harder for the Germans to support the continuing bailout, behind the scenes. As always, it will be interesting.