Germany became the #1 economy in the Eurozone utilizing millions of foreign workers that rebuilt the country after World War II.
After the financial unification of Europe took place, large German corporations such as Siemens further established their status quo by securing large contracts, some of which were achieved via the means of bribing government officials.
Currently, the financial straits that the Greek economy is facing are a direct result of years of abuse of power by a corrupt political system that ensured large companies such as Siemens retained their monopolistic contracts at any cost to the Greek consumer.
The German hubris towards the Greeks reached new heights today, after an online campaign of German car rental company Sixt was revealed. The ad is both insensitive and provocative as it invites Greeks to take advantage of the low Sixt rates and spend their “drachmas”.
The Sixt.de campaign provokes Greeks both by use of imagery and content.
As a member of the Eurozone, Greece is using the euro; the old currency of drachma is not legal tender since 2001.
The offensive ad, seen at www.Sixt.de depicts a BMW in front of the Acropolis, with the words “Dear Greeks, we accept drachmas again. The BMW1 cabrio for only 26,900 drachmas per day.”
There is no such indication of an exit from the Eurozone for Greece and no return to drachma is even considered; such an exit would destabilize both the Eurozone and the global economy.
Sixt Germany has received an official complaint by the Greek embassy in Berlin, and the Sixt Facebook page is getting flooded by the justified responses of Greeks, both in Germany and in Greece.
Clearly, an edgy campaign that will further raise the political thermometer between Germany and Greece this summer.
