Toby on Tuesday 

‘The Isles of Greece’

It was the ancient Greeks who invented democracy – indeed the word itself derives from the Greek demos (the people) and kratia (power or rule). And in UKIP we love democracy above all else. But the funny thing is that, although Nelson Mandela is revered for giving his life to the creation of a self-governing democracy in South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi is revered for doing exactly the same in India and, going further back, George Washington likewise in the United States, whenever members of UKIP call for Britain to be a self-governing democracy once more they are dismissed as ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’. Yet infantile abuse only strengthens us in our purpose.

But to return to Greece, even the most ardent Eurofanatic has to recognise that the whole crazy project is unravelling on Europe’s Southern border. When the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited President Putin in Moscow recently, the shape of the new geopolitics became clear. Without its own currency able to find a proper level in international markets, Greece has been driven to penury and humiliation by the EU and the European Central Bank. And even the most ardent Eurofanatic must recognise the sense of anger and grievance that now prevails in Athens, where democracy was first born.

Old memories, too, have reawakened. Anyone who saw the unforgettable film, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”, with Nicolas Cage as Corelli, John Hurt as Dr. Iannis and Penelope Cruz as his daughter Pelagia, will know that memories of German atrocities in World War 2, not only in Cephallonia but throughout Greece, still resonate. And before then, centuries of misrule at the hands of Turkey are engraved on the Greek psyche (another Greek word from Psukhe, meaning breath, life, soul). So fear of Turkish accession to the EU, sponsored primarily by Germany, has only reinforced Greece’s turning to the embrace of her old ally, Russia.
So the dye is cast and, not for the first ti
me, the geopolitics of the Balkans will determine the whole future of the Continent of Europe. And where should Britain stand in this? Certainly not in propping up the failing rule from Brussels and Berlin, and certainly not in bailing out the European Central Bank when Greece is in default on her loans. Rather, we should watch events unfold, protect our own finances from the looming fall-out and wish the people of Greece well. Last Sunday 19th April saw the anniversary of the death at Missolonghi in 1824 of the poet Byron, who gave his life for the cause of Greek independence from Turkey. Byron is little read now, but his words have a special resonance as Greece fights for her survival -

“The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!
Where burning Sappho loved and sung,
Where grew the arts of war and peace, -
Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!
Eternal summer gilds them yet,
But all, except their sun, is set.
The mountains look on Marathon -
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dream’d that Greece might still be free,
For standing on the Persians grave,
I could not deem myself a slave.”

Until next Tuesday!
Toby