Hateful scapegoating and economic garbage from the UKIP supporting paper
‘EU membership is dragging Greece into the Dark Ages’, says the Daily Express’s Leo McKinstry.
His column today blames Greece’s current economic woes on 1) its being part of the Eurozone, which he elides with membership of the European Union, and 2) migration into Greece from outside Europe, which he also blames on the EU.
The piece uses Greece as a way to argue about British membership of the EU by proxy. It’s therefore important to highlight why his argument is complete garbage.
For one thing, the Greek economy is not comparable to that of Britain. The UK is a much richer country with far less corruption than Greece. Crucially, the UK has its own currency and central bank, and can therefore print more money if it needs too, whereas Greece has the Euro and is at the mercy of the European Central Bank (ECB).
The behaviour of the ECB is the proximate cause of Greece’s torturous position. Its insistence on austerity measures in return for financial help is grinding Greek society into dust, and has done little to help its economy. Public hatred of this German-led policy is what propelled Syriza into government in Greece in January.
In other words, the trouble is with the administration of the Eurozone, not membership of it per se. After all, there are 19 countries using the Euro as their currency, and they don’t all have the same problems as Greece.
Does McKinstry seriously mean to say the UK economy is more comparable to that of Greece than Germany? Or why not compare it to other EU members with their own currency, such as Poland, which has thrived since joining the EU?
A report last week found Poland was outperforming Britain on health, education and using its wealth to benefit its citizens. This in a country which, as Express hero Nigel Farage keeps reminding us, was a communist dictatorship a few decades ago.
On point 2: to blame migration from what he calls ‘war-torn Somalia and Syria’ for Greece’s economic crisis is a hateful lie. People would be fleeing the war in Syria regardless of the size of Greece’s debt.
This is the sort of scapegoating that degrades the British press in the eyes of the world.
McKinstry even quotes the far-right Greek politician Panos Kamenos threatening to flood Europe with migrants – that is, spouting the equivalent of the racial demagogy carried by the Daily Express.
There are certainly lessons to be drawn from the Greek crisis for Britain, not least on austerity economics. But among them is not, as the Express would have it, to leave the EU, pull up the drawbridge, and elect Nigel Farage to high office.
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
Read more:
Daily Mail says Syrian refugees turn Greek holiday town into ‘disgusting hellhole’
Express owner Desmond uses paper to protect his £1million UKIP donation
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17 Responses to “Daily Express blames Greek economic crisis on EU and immigration”
Torybushhug
Why do EU lovers frame independence as ‘drawing up the drawbridge’?
Being open to the entire global economy and doing your own deals as you see fit (Switzerland has 31 trade deals to include 1 with China) is the very essence of openness and belief in ones own autonomy.
The small c conservative inward looking mind-set is that of the coward afraid of change, afraid of embracing our own independent destiny.
The cowardly status quo set imply that the peoples of independent nations such as Australia and S Korea are somehow hampered by implying they are impotent for want of being in an EU style federal block, without which they have no influence and are unable to co-operate with others. Utter tripe. Australia for example recently co-operated in a global child abuse initiative.
So much for you guys being the gurdians of ‘evidence based politics’, lol.
damon
I’d like to hear Adam Barnett’s ideas about what should be done with the migrants who have moved into Greece? Should they be sent back to Turkey as they will have been in a safe country there?
Many don’t want to stay in Greece I believe, so can not be considered to be asylum seekers by the proper definition of that process. Bulgaria is just over the border from Greece so how many of them want to go there? Or Romania in the next country after that?
Should Britain be setting up some refugee camps like Turkey has? In Kent perhaps?
I was in Athens a couple of years ago and it was pretty grim for illegal immigrants etc.
Lots of people sleeping rough in the streets or abandoned buildings – and in cars.
Many Africans, and south Asians too.
What should the EU do about it?
GTE
There are certainly lessons to be drawn from the Greek crisis for Britain, not least on austerity economics.
============
Caused by Keynsian Borrow and Spend.
No debts, pensions or borrowing, and you would have no austerity.
Austerity is a symptom of governments that spend too much money that they don’t have.
Jonathan Hartley
You don’t really understand economics, do you?
Peter Martin
Poland may have its own currency for now but not for much longer. It is committed under the terms of Maastricht to adopt the euro. Probably some time after 2020.
Why? If the Poles are doing well why can’t they decide to keep the zloty if they wish?
The EU treaties need to be renogotiated for the benefit of all countries not just the UK.