????乍一眼看上去,，亞尼斯?布塔利斯不太像是個(gè)支持自由市場(chǎng)的改革家,。這位現(xiàn)年69歲的塞薩洛尼基（Thessaloniki，希臘第二大城市）市長(zhǎng)前臂和指關(guān)節(jié)上都有紋身,，滿頭白發(fā)修剪得很短,，面部皺紋很多，看起來(lái)就像是塊歷盡滄桑的皮革,。在一個(gè)悶熱的夏日午后,，我們坐在他那單調(diào)乏味的辦公室傾談。他戴著金耳環(huán),，身穿牛仔褲,，腳踏一雙Keds黑色高幫無(wú)系帶膠底球鞋，還一根接一根地抽著駱駝牌（Camels）無(wú)過(guò)濾嘴香煙,。進(jìn)入政界之前,，布塔利斯是個(gè)生意人，現(xiàn)在他仍然擁有該國(guó)最頂尖的釀酒廠之一（不過(guò),，他過(guò)去縱酒過(guò)度,，現(xiàn)在正在戒酒，不能再享用自己的陳年佳釀了）,。他在政治上很難算得上是保守派,，當(dāng)年第一次入選塞薩洛尼基市議會(huì)時(shí),，他甚至還是個(gè)共產(chǎn)黨黨員。

????不過(guò),，就算是對(duì)布塔利斯來(lái)說(shuō),，希臘那史詩(shī)般的經(jīng)濟(jì)滑鐵盧也已經(jīng)讓他忍無(wú)可忍?！跋ＥD人借錢(qián)毫無(wú)節(jié)制,，花錢(qián)大手大腳。在商品制造和提供旅游業(yè)等服務(wù)方面也完全喪失了競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力,，”他憤怒地說(shuō),，一邊說(shuō)還一邊用力揮舞手中的香煙以示強(qiáng)調(diào)，“如果想開(kāi)公司的話,，就算是去保加利亞也比希臘好,！”

????塞薩洛尼基是希臘北部的工業(yè)中心，它本該成為國(guó)際郵輪公司的重要港口,、歐洲退休者的旅游勝地和巴爾干地區(qū)的運(yùn)輸樞紐,，但眾多不利政策使該市無(wú)法充分發(fā)揮潛力，這位深感挫折的市長(zhǎng)正全力改變它們,。布塔利斯受夠了掣肘,，準(zhǔn)備親手解決這些問(wèn)題。比如說(shuō),，他威脅要采取激進(jìn)措施（當(dāng)然是按照希臘標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來(lái)衡量）,，把該市運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)失靈的垃圾收集行業(yè)私有化?！跋嚓P(guān)工會(huì)正在抵制我的改革,，以每三個(gè)垃圾桶只清理一個(gè)的方式進(jìn)行‘罷工’，”布塔利斯不滿地說(shuō),，“我正在考慮雇傭合同工,，這樣每噸垃圾的清理費(fèi)可以省下一半！”

????布塔利斯眼前的這團(tuán)亂麻——以及必須立即采取行動(dòng)的緊迫性——正是整個(gè)歐洲面臨的問(wèn)題的縮影,。想必閣下肯定已經(jīng)聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò),，整個(gè)歐洲大陸目前深陷于不斷升級(jí)的債務(wù)危機(jī)無(wú)法自拔。危機(jī)2010年初肇始于希臘,，但最近幾周已經(jīng)蔓延到意大利和西班牙,，而這些國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)規(guī)模太大，一旦出事沒(méi)人能救得了,。這些國(guó)家——還包括葡萄牙和愛(ài)爾蘭——要么背負(fù)著沉重的債務(wù),，要么現(xiàn)在仍有龐大的財(cái)政赤字，但卻還在不斷累積新債務(wù)，這一切都是他們過(guò)去十年來(lái)毫無(wú)節(jié)制浪費(fèi)公帑的后果,。如今,，投資者擔(dān)心這些國(guó)家的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力長(zhǎng)期低下，無(wú)法保持足夠的增長(zhǎng)速度,，將來(lái)連國(guó)債的利息都無(wú)力清償,。因此，全球養(yǎng)老金基金,、保險(xiǎn)公司和銀行紛紛拋售西班牙和意大利國(guó)債,，使其國(guó)債收益率一路飆升，直指災(zāi)難性的高位,。?

????At first glance, Yiannis Boutaris would seem to be an unlikely free-market reformer. The 69-year-old mayor of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, has tattoos decorating his forearms and knuckles, short-cropped white hair, and a face creased like worn leather. As we sit and talk in his drab office on a sweltering summer afternoon, he's chain-smoking unfiltered Camels and wearing jeans, a gold stud earring, and black high-top Keds sneakers with no laces. Boutaris was a businessman before he got into politics, and he still owns one of the country's leading wineries (although, as a recovering alcoholic, he can no longer drink his own vintages). But he's hardly a political conservative. He was originally elected to Thessaloniki's city council as a member of the Communist Party.

????Even Boutaris, however, has reached a breaking point with his nation's Homeric economic failures. "The Greeks borrowed and consumed recklessly, and got totally uncompetitive at making things and providing services like tourism," he says angrily, jabbing the air with his cigarette for emphasis. "If you want to start a business, you'll do better going to Bulgaria!"

????The frustrated mayor is battling to end policies that block Thessaloniki, the industrial center of northern Greece, from becoming what it should be -- a principal port for the world's cruise lines, a favorite resort for European retirees, and a transit hub for the Balkans. Fed up, Boutaris is taking matters into his own hands. For instance, he's threatening to take the radical (for Greece) step of privatizing the city's dysfunctional waste collection business. "The unions are 'striking' against my reforms by picking up one can out of three," grouses Boutaris. "I'm thinking about hiring contract workers. We could save 50% on every ton of garbage!"

????The mess that Boutaris is tackling -- and the overwhelming need to take action now -- epitomizes the problems facing Europe. As you've no doubt heard, the continent is trapped in an escalating debt crisis. It began in Greece in early 2010, but in recent weeks it has spread to Italy and Spain, nations that are simply too big to bail out. Those countries -- as well as Portugal and Ireland -- suffer from either crushing debt loads or gigantic current deficits that are piling on new debt, a legacy of their reckless overspending during the past decade. Today investors worry that these nations are so chronically uncompetitive, they can't grow fast enough to pay the future interest on that debt. As a result, global pension funds, insurers, and banks are dumping Spanish and Italian bonds, threatening to drive rates to ruinous levels.?