Greek finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos says IMF should respect a country’s acquired social benefits and entitlements in an interview in the daily Ta Nea.
At the same time, Mr. Tsakalotos is careful not to cause further friction between his government and the Fund by underlining that the views of certain members of the Fund involved in the review of the Greek bailout program are not representative of the institution as a whole.
Put simply, the Greek finance minister seeks to made a distinction between Poul Thomsen’s IMF, Director of the IMF’s European Department, and Christine Lagarde, IMF’s Managing Director. The distinction is of course simply ludicrous.
Nonetheless, Mr. Tsakalotos says that the Fund must “put water in its wine”” (A French expression used commonly by Greeks to denote that one should adopt a more moderate stance) and look at the question of labor rights from a more socially sensitive perspective.
Mr. Tsakalotos also says that in the April 22nd Eurogroup the discussion about Greece will involve both the review of the new bailout program as well as the restructuring of debt.
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