The infamous joke that could “the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights” was aimed at Neil Kinnock. The Sun used it as a headline because they believed that Labour’s policies would be a huge disaster for Britain. Though for some reason, Labour managed to hood wink the next generation of voters into getting voted in. And we nearly did end up turning out the lights due to Gordon Brown’s mismanagement.

However in Greece they probably won’t need to have the last person turn out the lights. Due to Greece’s credit rating, no one is accepting letters of credit drawn on Greek banks. That means that the energy suppliers are finding it difficult to get fuel to keep the power stations going. They made do by buying from Iran for a while, but even that route has been closed due to EU sanctions against Iran (which hurts Greece more than it hurts Iran). So Greece is now paying over the odds for it’s oil. This cost is passed on to the Greek people whose bills have shot up. Not just because of the higher cost of fuel, but also because the Greek government decided to stick property taxes which Greeks hardly pay on to electricity bills.

So which lights are going to go out first. Street lights, household lights, or those in government buildings?

MarbellaBoy
June 9, 2012 at 00:50

This is already happening here in Spain. About 6 months or so ago some bright spark (heh, see what I did there) decided to shut off the motorway and suburban road lights. Apparently the local government is arguing that roads are really a national responsibility and are passing the bill on to central government who are refusing to pay it, hence they get switched off. The battle seems to be going back and forth as the lights get switched on and off on random days as they argue the toss. Meanwhile we are all left in the dark (I did it again) as to what is happening.

If things go the way that seems likely, I will have a ringside seat to the fall of a civilisation.

Oh joy.

Ian R Thorpe
June 8, 2012 at 19:21

Bring on the New World Order, freedom is slavery.

Plans to extent “Europe” to include Turkey, Syria and the north African basket case nations are already well advanced

Elena ‘andcart
June 8, 2012 at 13:26

Why was Greece allowed to join in the first place? It isn’t as though The EU didn’t know what they were like.
From where I am sitting, The Euro is looking fine, so long as it doesn’t have to perpetually bail out a bunch of spendthrifts. It has a fair old way to drop before it reaches what it was worth at inception, which at the time was perfectly acceptable to everyone. Although I am getting a bit tired of pointing this out.

Châtelaine
June 8, 2012 at 15:21

USD / EUR June 2012: 0.7872
USD / EUR June 1998: 1.3184

m.barnes
June 8, 2012 at 13:14

Is Greece in any way relevant to the experience of the UK? The Greek economy has been problematic for decades with seriously dodgy traditions of (not)tax paying, graft, political corruption way beyond moats and an economy that has generally struggled to deliver employment to it’s people – hence the (not)tax paying etc etc.

I throw a shoe at my radio every time some coalition politician comes on and starts holding up Greece as a bogey man – ‘well if you don’t take your medicine little voter, then look what will happen’. Its not that I believe Diddy Milliband and his merry band of public-schoolboys-who-didn’t-go-to-Eton-thank-you-very-much when they pretend there isn’t a price to pay. But I do resent someone trying to frighten me into saying yes to economic decisions presented with a ‘we have no choice’ spin when many of them are driven by ideological beliefs as much as fiscal.
The UK isn’t Greece and would have to spend many years being bolloxed up before it got close. Apart from anything else the UK has its own currency – something I believe Gordon Brown dug his heels in on? See – no-one is all bad!

GildasTheMonk
June 8, 2012 at 12:48

Greece is the living embodiment of the end product of Brown and Balls and the public sector lobbyists

Mark
June 8, 2012 at 10:47

Ah – the remorseless logic of the EU project – the Eurocrats will not be satisfied until they have political control over all their dominion – even if it means driving the masses into poverty first.

VK
June 8, 2012 at 12:06

Make way for the 4th Reich!

Mark
June 8, 2012 at 14:44

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Euro!

Engineer
June 8, 2012 at 09:51

The real fault lies with bone-headed political ‘elites’ at the top of the EU, who still will not allow Greece to leave the Euro, and sort out it’s economic woes by devaluation and allowing their economy to compete in the global markets. The EU ‘elite’ stick to a discredited political dream because their hubris will not allow them to see the misery it is inflicting on ordinary people – in Greece, in Spain, in Ireland and soon in other countries too. Why, for example, should German taxpayers support policies that see the fruits of their labours squandered to support a bankrupt political dream? What will happen if people are denied a democratic say for much longer? The result can only be more suffering.

ivan
June 8, 2012 at 11:03

While I agree with your general premise and would say that all the unelected members of the EU ruling cabal should be ‘removed’, I do question the role of Germany or at least its ruling elite. After all Hitler didn’t have the backing of all the population.

Engineer
June 8, 2012 at 12:35

A fair point.

One problem is that the EU ruling cabal are not elected, and not accountable to any democratic mandate. How, then, to remove them?

Joe Public
June 8, 2012 at 08:44

“The Sun used it as a headline because they believed that Labour’s policies would be a huge disaster for Britain. ”

And there was me thinking it was because the Tories promised Murdoch a more-profitable corporate environment than Labour did.

Engineer
June 8, 2012 at 09:44

I think the Tories promised Murdoch himself nothing. However, they did promise policies which would allow business to get on with it’s work – promises they more or less delivered, and the UK became a generally more prosperous nation as a result.

Murdoch has always been been very astute at gauging public opinion – better than many politicians. He has never had enough clout to dictate public opinion.

Johnnydub
June 8, 2012 at 09:51

Ah, so it wasn’t that the people looked at Kinnock and thought he was an embarassing windbag, it was those damn Murdoch’s.

Just how small are thge left’s willies?

binao
June 8, 2012 at 08:14

The point has been made elsewhere that the cult of the euro is just that. It has become the official religion of the eu.
The priesthood in Brussels and the political class are determined to impose the faith even if it has turned the eu (except Germany) into a mutual impoverishment zone.
Is losing electricity the penance for a lack of proper religious observance?

Edward.
June 8, 2012 at 08:11

For years, the Greeks voted for the status quo: either, or PASOK or the ND, in whatever combination it mattered not. Life was good, the euro meant zero interest rates and most people we’re making a ‘killing’. Taxpaying? Ha! what a joke. Salaries and bogus pensions – no problem.

Only now, are people in Athens and Thessalonika beginning to take notice and yet they still cling to the old stupid ways – they still want the euro and they still want Europe but they don’t want to pay, which as we say in Britain, is like having your cake and eating it. There has to be a reckoning and the time is now.

As you sow, so shall ye reap.

Eventually, it will come to Britain too, unless the electorate wakes up because surely, as night follows day, the lights in Britain will soon enough go off, in a real sense and figuratively.

ivan
June 8, 2012 at 10:56

Didn’t their downfall begin with the massive cost of the olympic games they put on just as the cost of the same charade in London shortly is very likely to do for Britain.

Robert the Biker
June 8, 2012 at 07:35

Whistle, can’t spell. Or possibly the sound will be the Panzers warming up, it’s not like we haven’t been here before.

Robert the Biker
June 8, 2012 at 07:33

First, the streetlights will go as councils and towns cant pay the bills, then there will be rolling brownouts and power cuts which will kill any remaining industry, finally the government will be gone and the Germans can go wistle for their repayments.
Last but not least, the whole EU led by the PIGS (or more likely the GSPI) will unravel and we will finally be free; I give it 12 months.

Ed P
June 8,