Same in Swedish (skuld), where the words for clean and raindeer are also the same: ren. Still those kan be seperated by context, and it is the same with guilt and debt. I think the same is true for Germany. To the extent that we are having a problem with German public opinion, it is that it reflects what the German chattering classes has been claiming during the crisis. And as long as Greeks don't vote in German elections they are a risk free group to blame.

When it comes to the driving force here, I would say it is the wish among the EUropean political and economical elite to visit some shock doctrine on the population. The purpose with destroying the safety nets in Greece are the same as they were in Chile, in Poland, in Russia and everywhere else the shock doctrine has been applied: a radical economic transformation of society that benefits a local and international elite (division of spoils is a question of power relations). It is in turn driven by a combination of personal interest, class interest and misguided idealism (reforms are necessary, strenghten competetivness etc).

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