The Cyprus recession and bail-out plea has aroused two different thoughts. In democracies we have political accountability, but can there be such things as public accountability? Last week political elites of Cyprus asked Cypriots to give their banking savings to the government to cover the $10 million needed to gain an IMF bail-out package. The people of Cyprus were outraged that their money would be transferred to the government to try and secure the country’s monetary and banking system. My initial reaction was similar to the people of Cyprus. My hard earned money; I already pay taxes how much more do you want from me. But then I thought, if political elites have to be held accountable to the people should there be some sort of rule that holds the public accountable. That the public lend there savings to the government in an IOU deal only to be reimbursed by the banks on their mortgages, pensions, or education savings in the future. There is some logic to this madness of the Cypriot political elites.

Secondly, in democracies can there be a greater governing force that has the authority to intervene in state matters without the consent or electoral decree of the people? Many people in Cyprus are outraged at the EU authorities for meddling and intervening in their national affairs. The EU has now tag-teamed with the IMF on the bailout package which will soon be handed over to Cyprus. The EU cites destabilization of the region as a legitimate excuse to intervene in the country’s affairs. They believe they have an obligation to the people to help them stabilize their banking system and monetary accounts in order to prevent a domino effect from occurring in the EU which would subsequently scare investors away. The people of Cyprus have not voted for the EU authorities help. In light of this do the EU authorities have legitimate rights to intervene, or should the problem only be addressed by nationals. Or did Cyprus give away their national autonomy and sovereignty with the joining of the EU that now makes them susceptible to a hierarchy of authorities.

For more information check out BBC’s latest article on the Cyprus situation. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21933473