The problems of Greece's EU - known formerly as the EEC - membership were well known from the very beginning. Here's a snippet from a film that screened yesterday on Greek TV, a comedy made in 1980, the year Greece became a member of the EEC.
Interviewer: Mr President, after our entry to the EEC, many people are worried about the future of our country...
President: Oh, they shouldn't worry. Upon entry to the EEC, we will do very well in the outside world.
Interviewer: But how will we fare inside, Mr President?
President: Inside, we will tighten our belts a little. We have already initiated a campaign against being overweight. Too much fat harms the heart. That's why we will all go on a diet.
Interviewer: Ha ha ha, Mr President. But it is said that our standard of living is very low. And with our entry to the EEC, being the poor country that we are, we will end up being like poor relatives.
President: Wrong! We are not a poor country at all! Evidence of this lies in the fact that there are 700,000 bank accounts all containing deposits.
Opposition: But I don't have a bank deposit book, Mr President.
President: You're spending your money in such a way that you are trying to become President. That's why you haven't got any deposits.
Interviewer: Mr Vice-President, what do you think about our entry to the EEC?
Opposition: NO to the EEC! No to the monopolies that threaten our country!
(simultaneous turn-taking of the interviewees ensues)
And it seems that the problems concerning Greece's entry have not really changed. These same issues are now being discussed not just by Greeks but by those who put her into the EU/Eurozone.
Coincidentally, Kostas Voutsas, who had a starring role in this film (not seen in the snippet that I translated), is now starring in a comedy series screening these days on MEGA channel, about a pensioner who has been thrown out of his house and is forced to live in a campsite called "Mε τα παντελόνια κάτω" (= Caught with his pants down).
©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
Translation corresponds to the segment beginning at 14:00
Interviewer: Mr President, after our entry to the EEC, many people are worried about the future of our country...
President: Oh, they shouldn't worry. Upon entry to the EEC, we will do very well in the outside world.
Interviewer: But how will we fare inside, Mr President?
President: Inside, we will tighten our belts a little. We have already initiated a campaign against being overweight. Too much fat harms the heart. That's why we will all go on a diet.
Interviewer: Ha ha ha, Mr President. But it is said that our standard of living is very low. And with our entry to the EEC, being the poor country that we are, we will end up being like poor relatives.
President: Wrong! We are not a poor country at all! Evidence of this lies in the fact that there are 700,000 bank accounts all containing deposits.
Opposition: But I don't have a bank deposit book, Mr President.
President: You're spending your money in such a way that you are trying to become President. That's why you haven't got any deposits.
Interviewer: Mr Vice-President, what do you think about our entry to the EEC?
Opposition: NO to the EEC! No to the monopolies that threaten our country!
(simultaneous turn-taking of the interviewees ensues)
And it seems that the problems concerning Greece's entry have not really changed. These same issues are now being discussed not just by Greeks but by those who put her into the EU/Eurozone.
Coincidentally, Kostas Voutsas, who had a starring role in this film (not seen in the snippet that I translated), is now starring in a comedy series screening these days on MEGA channel, about a pensioner who has been thrown out of his house and is forced to live in a campsite called "Mε τα παντελόνια κάτω" (= Caught with his pants down).
©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
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