Dallara reviews the 2010s

The inexperience of the SYRIZA government (2015-2019) forced Greece to undergo another five tough years, noted Charles Dallara, the former Institute of International Finance head who in 2012 led negotiations on a major haircut on Greece's private-held debt, known as the private sector involvement (PSI).

In an interview with Kathimerini, Dallara, who was in Athens for the presentation of his book "Euroshock," explained that the PSI saved the eurozone, corrected long-standing mistakes of the private sector and prevented an Italian debt crisis. He recounted the tug-of-war between then Prime Minister George Papandreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the IMF's participation in the bailout program, and the Fund's demands during the PSI negotiations that nearly stopped them.

Dallara referred to the wrath of then Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos after Papandreou...