Greece may sell off islands amid privatization scheme: report + Bankrupt political class: 'Austerity = poverty, adjustment = exploitation, growth = private profit' + ZH take

The Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said this week that the country is willing to sell off its uninhabited islands as part of a plan to accelerate privatization across the country, telling French newspaper Le Monde that it is the only way to save Greece.
The prime minister was quoted that Greece would still retain national sovereignty over any islands sold to private investors, “on condition that it doesn’t pose a national security problem.”
“It would not be a case of getting rid of the isles, but of transforming unused terrain into capital that can generate revenue, for a fair price,” Samaras reportedly said.
The country possesses about 6,000 tiny islands in the Mediterranean Sea, but only about 227 are actually inhabited. Samaras reportedly said that the Greece is finally willing to let some of the uninhabited islands be used for commercial purposes, which Greek lawmakers have long resisted.

The German government first suggested in 2010 that Greece sell off some islands, drawing outrage. In Thursday’s edition of Le Monde, Samaras painted a dark picture of a potential Greek exit from Europe’s common currency and insisted the government continue selling off assets and public lands. Source


Additional:
Bankrupt political class: 'Austerity = poverty, adjustment = exploitation, growth = private profit' 

Battered and bruised by austerity, Athens has begged the EU for 'breathing space'. Regardless of whether Greece is given more time, its tactic to fight debt will remain the same: aggressive austerity, privatization and cuts. However, Andrew Gavin Marshall from the Centre of Research on Globalization thinks those reforms will do much more harm than good. Source



Additional:

Submitted by Tyler Durden: A year ago the mere mention of Greece selling its real estate, let along its prized islands, was enough to fill Syntagma square with tear gas, laser light pointers and the occasional riot dog. Now - nobody cares, which is why the statement by Greek PM Samaras that he is ready to start selling Greek islands was largely met with a yawn across the investing world. From AP:

Afraid of investing in Greek bonds? Invest in a Greek island instead.

Greece’s prime minister is quoted Thursday in an interview in France’s Le Monde as saying the government could cash in on uninhabited islands.

Antonis Samaras said investment is key to reviving the economy, and that privatization plans include selling railways and a part of the Attica coast.

Asked if the government is ready to sell uninhabited islands too, he said, ‘‘as long as this doesn’t pose problems for national security, some of these isles could have a commercial use.’’

He didn’t elaborate or say the government would sell the islands altogether: ‘‘This is not, in any way, about selling them off for cheap, but about transforming unused terrain into capital that could generate revenue, at a fair price.’’

Of course, nobody in their right mind will "buy" a Greek island for three reasons:

1. Said island will soon be used as secret collateral for loans to the ECB and Germany, meaning there will be no equity value left for the "buyers"
2. "Buyers" can't take it with them, and
3. All island sales will be promptly re-nationalized when the opposition takes control of government in the next election in a few months, kicking Greece out of the Euro, and declaring all previous "deals" null and void, just before it announces Odious debt means all Greek debt is also null and void.

And to think all of this could have been avoided if Greece simply collected taxes....

Source