Letter from Thessaloniki
«There are only two important things in politics. The first is the money and I can’t remember the second.» At least according to Mark Hanna (1837-1904), a Cleveland industrialist who was convinced that the welfare of big business depended – at the time – on the success of the Republican Party. This week, money will be at center stage at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) which will run September 6-14 and is expected to draw more than 250,000 visitors. It has become a tradition for the country’s prime minister to set out his government’s policies for each coming year in a speech at the annual fair. Thus, before an illustrious audience that is no doubt quite aware of the widespread corruption in our public life, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is scheduled to make his annual keynote economic speech at the fair on September 6. Against this background, several discussions on the economy will be broadcast via the tube during the next few days. Who will be the first orator to break the first law of the TV politician – namely, never acknowledge failure? Plainly the public will once again be bombarded with all manner of misinformation. It will be fed, yet again, with «news» – that is merely propaganda disguised as fact. With good reason, the government is prepared to be unpopular in order to weather the current economic crisis. These are, once again, difficult times. In such dark times, one is inclined to recall what Henry Adams wrote on US social order at the beginning of the last century: «The whole fabric of society will go to wrack, if we really lay hands of reform on our rotten institutions…. From top to bottom, the whole system is a fraud, all of us know it, laborers and capitalists alike and all of us are consenting parties to it.» How «modern Greek» all that sounds! Of course there are questions such as «Why is nothing being done?», «Why is there so little outrage?», «Why is there no party of Reform?» Sadly there are no answers. So we do indeed have a problem. Simply put, there is too much private money in our political system. And it is not just the Siemens bribery case. Before his crucial speech in Thessaloniki, Karamanlis will spend this week in Brussels and in Athens discussing the negative mood pervading his party. Recent polls have indicated that there is growing dissatisfaction with both of the big parties. But, as political junkies like to say, the only poll that matters is taken on election day. The Thessaloniki International Fair traditionally marks the end of the summer season in Greece and the return to business as usual. It usually opens with the government rolling out its new economic policies, followed the next weekend by strong criticism from the opposition parties. Greece’s key trading partners all line up to display their wares to thousands of Greek and foreign businesspeople. This year the trade fair will host 700 exhibitors, down from more than 1,000 last year. Thirty countries are expected to take part, including Bulgaria, Pakistan, Indonesia and Brazil. Italy will be this year’s honored country. The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce will not take part in this year’s TIF, despite its involvement in the exhibition for nearly 50 years, due to the lack of interest shown by US companies. So, what has happened? Have the Yanks finally gone home? The decision of the pavilion’s usual organizers not to participate, announced initially to members of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce at the end of July, was poorly received when the story broke. It somehow took on a political hue. So what’s all the complaining about? Is this actually a political statement somehow linked to Balkan disputes or simply a result of financial hard times? We spoke to Alec Mally, former Consul General in Thessaloniki, who also headed the State Department’s Greece Desk and had earlier served as First Secretary in the Economic Section of the US Embassy in Athens. After spending some time at the United Nations in New York, he is now back in Greece working, among other things, as a consultant for companies in the region wishing to become partners with American firms. Here are some of his comments: «The US has been more committed than most of Greece’s major economic partners to increasing trade and investment with Greece, and tapping Thessaloniki’s strategic advantages as a Balkan commercial hub. For example, it was not all that long ago that former ambassador Nicholas Burns convinced the US Commerce Department to post a new commercial officer in Thessaloniki, focusing exclusively on Northern Greece and Southeastern Europe. This was not an inexpensive proposition, and the position was phased out after several years when it was clear it could not generate significant new commerce. We were very sorry to lose this position, but we couldn’t make the case for indefinite extension of the officer’s work in Thessaloniki without results. «That was the early part of the decade; but bilateral business and trade opportunities look great from where I now sit. American products retain a strong consumer preference and important technological advantages and Greek consumers clearly know it. The exchange rate remains favorable for US exporters trying to penetrate the eurozone. While I haven’t been here forever, my experience here spans several decades; I have never seen so many US products freely available on the Greek market.» Ultimately, it is apparent that doing business in Europe isn’t cheap any more. «Other companies will be at the fair in different pavilions or grouped with other US-based organizations. In view of globalization, many companies question whether the Thessaloniki International Fair is bringing them the kind of regional market access (its major selling point for decades) and exposure on which they now want to focus.» I started to ask: «I have heard rumors that because of the Greek attitude toward the Georgia-Russia conflict – Greece is no doubt pro-Russian – or worse, our position against Kosovo that is so strongly supported by the US…» Mally interrupted: «Nonsense. It’s simply not accurate to project non-commercial motivations into the fact that a traditional US pavilion won’t be there in 2008. American products will be there this year and we have been assured that every effort will be made to organize a full pavilion in the future.» After all money is the only important thing in politics, isn’t it?
