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Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos Petros Giannakouris AP/Press Association Images

Greek Finance Minister takes sly dig at creditors by sending Scrooge-themed Christmas cards

Euclid Tsakalotos said “our wishes go beyond all the Ebenezers of this world.”

THE GREEK FINANCE minister’s Christmas cards this year feature Ebenezer Scrooge, the tight-fisted protagonist of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, in a what is clearly a jibe directed at the country’s creditors.

Some of Greece’s EU partners, especially Germany, objected to tax handouts by Alexis Tsipras’ government to islands struggling with an influx of migrants, a measure that has triggered a row with the debt-ridden nation’s creditors.

The minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, sent e-cards to staff and journalists with an early illustration by renowned caricaturist John Leech for “A Christmas Carol”, showing the ghost of Scrooge’s dead partner telling him that he must change his ways or face eternal damnation.

“Perhaps in all of our Christmas tales there is a terrifying character like Ebenezer who receives the season’s spirit in an immense solitude, and closed like an oyster. And maybe our Christmas tale is no exception,” reads the card’s caption.

“But, dear friends and colleagues, our wishes go beyond all the Ebenezers of this world. We don’t give up on our wishes,” it said.

The tax measure was announced earlier this month, alongside a one-off bonus to the poorest of pensioners, after the government found itself with a €1 billion tax surplus.

Tsipras said it was policy “to return every single euro of surplus to the weakest”.

But Greece’s international creditors said they had not been fully informed of Tsipras’ intentions ahead of the announcement.

In response, the eurozone group said it would suspend a recently-announced debt relief scheme for Athens.

In “A Christmas Carol”, the miserly Scrooge finally redeems himself, starts lavishing gifts on the poor and treats his fellow humans with kindness and generosity.

It may be a coincidence, but on Christmas Eve cracks also seemed to appear in the Euro group’s unforgiving stance.

Sources there said their concerns had been “alleviated” by a letter from the Greek authorities explaining the tax measures.

As a consequence, they said, the group would resume working on debt measures for Greece — but only after Christmas.

- © AFP 2016

Read: You may not have heard of these strange Christmas traditions from across the world

Read: “Heroic” Greek grandmother becomes surrogate mum aged 67

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:06 PM

    And people still wonder how Brexit happened.
    Germany at the heart of the draconian measures of course.
    I swear, sometimes I think Europe would have been better off under Hitler than Merkel.

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:10 PM

    The question of a Retireland should be added to the Citizen’s Assembly before its completion.

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    Mute JFN
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:22 PM

    @Alex Falcone: Germany was under Hitler before, it didn’t end so great. He started a huge war he couldn’t win and then killed himself. Hope Santa’s bringing a history book for you!

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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:11 PM

    Next week… Greek ministers back in Brussels with hands out for another bailout.

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    Mute Benjy Dempsey
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    Dec 24th 2016, 6:46 PM

    It wasn’t a bailout. It was a stitch up. Exactly the same as Ireland’s.

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    Mute Sean Callan
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    Dec 24th 2016, 9:41 PM

    The Italians got a great deal…. NO bailout for gambling bondholders…so i guess there will be some burnt ‘offerings’ from that quarter……

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:17 PM

    I sent a card like this to my bank. I’m hoping they’ll pity me and knock a few grand off my mortgage

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:30 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter:

    Here’s a better idea – go bankrupt!

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    Mute Pat O'Dwyer
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    Dec 24th 2016, 6:16 PM

    Really devastating what’s happening in Greece at the moment. In hospitals a shortage of medicine plus acute shortage of doctors, who have immigrated in droves. With over 50% youth unemployment, (even though many have immigrated) young people are forced to move back with their parents, or more often with their grandparents, as they still get a pension, although drastically reduced. All natural resources, public services, airports, and even Islands are been privatized and sold off for a pittance.
    Meanwhile, IMF has made €2.5 billion profit out of Greece loans. Greece’s total debt to the IMF is currently €24 billion.
    Jubilee Debt Campaign show that the IMF has made €2.5 billion of profit out of its loans to Greece since 2010. If Greece does repay the IMF in full this will rise to €4.3 billion by 2024.
    All of this money has been added to the Fund’s reserves, which now total €19 billion.
    Tim Jones, economist at the Jubilee Debt Campaign, said:
    “The IMF’s loans to Greece have not only bailed out banks which lent recklessly in the first place, they have actively taken even more money out of the country. This usurious interest adds to the unjust debt forced on the people of Greece.”
    http://jubileedebt.org.uk/news/imf-made-e2-5-billion-profit-greece-loans

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:30 PM

    Tsipras held a referendum on more austerity and the majority said “No” but he brought in more austerity anyway.

    When PASOK was in government, Papendreou said there’d be a referendum but at least he did the u-turn before the referendum could take place.

    Why did the Greek conservative party New Democracy get slaughtered in the general elections? It didn’t cause the crisis – PASOK did.

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    Mute Kieran OKeeffe
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    Dec 24th 2016, 6:51 PM

    Imagine bellendas card..nations a/c no..pin no..and an invitation to help yourself lads..

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    Mute Fred Johnson
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    Dec 24th 2016, 5:27 PM

    Perhaps he could have been so kind to return €1 billion of German taxpayers money, to Germany, given that he had it to spare.

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    Mute sup
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    Dec 24th 2016, 11:07 PM

    If you don’t want to be subject to the whims of creditors,don’t borrow money. Simple really.

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    Mute Pharmyco
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    Dec 25th 2016, 4:10 PM

    Hardly very sly.

    The greeks should look first to their own tax-dodging countrymen before blaming those risking their money bailing them out.

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