In 490 BC, Greek forces defeated the Persian armies of King Darius I in the Battle of Marathon. Legend has it that after the battle, a man named Pheidippides ran 25 miles from the Marathon battlefield back to Athens to announce the Greek victory by saying “Nike” (“Victory”, in Greek), then collapsed and died. Such feat is said to have given rise to the modern-day sporting marathon event.
However, it is unlikely that many Greeks will be declaring “Nike” this morning.
The Persians were soundly defeated back then, but the IMF and the Germans have proved a more formidable foe.
After a meeting that went on for most of the night, a deal has finally been struck between Greece and its creditors.
A further bailout fund will be provided, in exchange for tough economic reforms that include 50bn of Greek assets to be placed in a trust managed by external agents. Someone has referred to this particular clause as the “effective creation of a German protectorate” in Greece. Just like the IMF did with Ireland, Greece will also be stripped of its financial sovereignity.
The deal, while it may allow Greece to remain in the eurozone as a puppet country whose strings will be firmly held by Germany, will likely cost the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras its job.
Tsipras’s ruling party, Syriza, won the last election by landslide on the basis of refusing further austerity. After six years of sustained hardship, the country has had enough. But last night’s concessions to Europe are likely to spark a revolt in his own party, and a savage popular backlash.