How the IMF reasserted its power in Greece’s debt crisis
Activer le mode zenHoward Schneider
On a crisp day last October, the prime minister of Greece, George Papandreou, strode along a red carpet into an emergency summit of European leaders in Brussels and boasted to reporters of his government's superhuman response to its debt crisis.
But in the private reports flowing from Athens, the International Monetary Fund's point person for Greece, Poul Thomsen, could see a different reality unfolding.
Greece was stiffing government contractors as a way to make its books look better, one set of data revealed. Other figures showed that the government was financing its daily operations with debt, like a family paying for food with a home-equity loan. And Greece was making only halting progress in fulfilling its pledges to reduce public payrolls, shut down money-losing state-owned companies and enforce tax laws.
Pour citer cette ressource :
How the IMF reasserted its power in Greece’s debt crisis, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), juin 2012. Consulté le 11/05/2025. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/how-the-imf-reasserted-its-power-in-greece-s-debt-crisis