Tspiras and Varoufakis entered bailout negotiations with all guns blazing, determined to end Greece’s “fiscal waterboarding”. As soon as they took office in January, they went out of their way to offend Germany, Greece’s biggest lender. Alex Tsipras’ first move after being sworn in as Prime Minister was to lay a wreath at a WWII memorial for Greeks killed by Nazis, in Greece, and Varoufakis brought up Nazism at a press conference during his first visit to Berlin. Apparently the saying, “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” gets lost when translated into Greek.
But Greek politicians did not just ruffle German feathers – they have even managed to alienate potential allies.
Tspiras lashed out at Spain and Portugal, countries which have also been forced to implement austerity in return for bail-outs, publicly accusing the governments of forming an ‘anti-Athens axis’. Business Insider reports that this outburst led to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble bluntly pointing out that, "Greece has made its position worse with a rhetoric that is difficult for someone on the outside to understand."
This was certainly true for Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico, also an opponent of austerity, came out strongly against Greek demands to ease the terms of its bailout. Fico told the Financial Times, “It would be impossible to explain to the public that ‘poor’ Slovakia…should compensate Greece…for their salaries and pensions…” Greek politicians were demanding a minimum wage increase to about €750 per month as part of the renegotiations. The minimum wage in Slovakia is €380 per month.
The new Greek government has been good at one thing: proving the relevance of the communications industry. They managed to offend almost everyone and they never actually presented a clear strategy, which did not go unnoticed. This was perhaps best summed up by Schaeuble’s remark to reporters during the February bail-out negotiations, “None of my colleagues have understood so far what Greece really wants in the end. Whether Greece itself knows is also the question.”
Without clearly demonstrating how they could prevent history from repeating itself, the demand to get rid of austerity was doomed from the start. This message may have worked for the Greek voters but it certainly wasn’t the message that should have been conveyed to the people who have for the past five years been footing the bill for Greece’s previous welfare state spending binges.
The lesson here: know your audience and cater your messages accordingly. Whether that audience is voters and lenders or investors and the media, an effective communications strategy is incredibly valuable, while the absence of one can result in complete disaster.
This week Abchaps hosted two market lunches, one of which had a focus on Malaysia, where advisers discussed opportunities and sentiments towards Malaysian companies seeking an AIM admission. We also attended Gorkana PR’s breakfast briefing with CityAM where topics such as creativity and the greater influence of digital were discussed.
The broking, advisory and trading house Peel Hunt appointed Edward Knight as head of media in its corporate team. He has previously held senior positions at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, whilst Fabian Wallmeier joined Capital Group Fidelity.
Fiscal waterboarding: The Greek term used to describe austerity
At Abchurch, we’re keen on good graphic design. This weekend at protein Studios, see 100 years of graphic design in a single space, with everything from Polish cinema posters of the 1960s to the propaganda images of Latin American radicals.
For electronic fans, LEAF, the London Electronic Arts Festival, is a two day cultural celebration of electronic music, art, technology, and digital futurism. Forget the image of your wasted ‘90s, this event offers everything from contemporary cinema, to live music, to the sort of hedonistic rave that you thought you had left behind along with the day-glo paint.
Finally, if your perfect weekend consists of throwing paint at total strangers, look no further than Play Holi in the City. Organised by Cinnamon Kitchen, you can take part in centuries old festival of colours, safe in the knowledge that some of London’s finest Indian food will be following shortly afterwards. But don’t wear your Sunday best.
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