Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 8

EDITORIAL ISSUE 27 JUNE 14 - JULY 13, 2013 PRICE €4.95 5 291295 000577 00001 > POWERED BY: THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS No Earthquakes O “It’s snowing still,” said Eeyore gloomily. “So it is.” “And freezing.” “Is it?” “Yes,” said Eeyore. “However,” he said, brightening up a little, “we haven’t had an earthquake lately.” A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner nly three months after the first Eurogroup decision was taken – and swiftly rejected by the House of Representatives – some people have begun to feel that they have already said and heard enough about the economy, the Troika, the Central Bank, ‘haircuts’, restructuring, growth and so on to last a lifetime. Austerity fatigue hits hard and fast when you’re not ready for it and Cyprus was certainly not ready. And yet, without getting too carried away with romantic notions, it is undoubtedly true that the people of Cyprus have a tendency to see the proverbial glass of ouzo half-full; they are an optimistic nation, which is all the more remarkable when you consider what they have been through in their long and often turbulent history. According to Havelock Ellis, “The place where optimism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum” (The Dance of Life, 1923) so what does that say about this island? I will resist the temptation to make the obvious joke, preferring to believe that there is good reason for some optimism among all the negative talk. And by neg F