Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
Well, there's an easy solution to the problem of asset stripping for future governments.

Do a Putin on their asses.

As long as the assets have not left Greece (and the more valuable ones cannot leave Greece), it is a trivial matter to send goons with guns and reclaim them.

Cite force majeure, bribery or even simply compelling national interest.

Less provocatively, tax them until they become unprofitable, then offer to buy them back for the same nominal sum they were sold for, minus any deferred maintenance.

Really, the number of ways to renationalise things you need to renationalise in more or less legal ways is legion.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Thu May 19th, 2011 at 03:28:56 AM EST

Others have rated this comment as follows:

Display:

Top Diaries

Occasional Series