IMF's Lagarde expresses sympathy for Greeks after tax evasion comments
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In a statement late on Saturday, Lagarde expressed sympathy for Greeks “and the challenges they are facing” and said that her comments regarding tax evasion were in reference to the “most privileged”.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lagarde adopted a tough stance on the Greek crisis, identifying tax evasion as a fundamental problem. Asked if she considers the social impact of austerity measures in Greece, Lagarde responded: «No, I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."
The former French finance minister then added: “As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax."
Asked whether it was payback time for Greeks and other Europeans who had enjoyed themselves in the past, Lagarde said: «That's right."
Lagarde was also questioned whether visitors to Greece next year would be paying in euros or drachmas. She refused to comment, apart from saying: «A holiday in Greece, it's a good investment for the country!"
The IMF chief’s comments were roundly criticized by Greece’s political parties.
“Nobody should humiliate a people during a crisis and I call on Mrs Lagarde, who insulted the Greek people with her attitude, to rethink what she wanted to say,” said PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos during a speech in Nafplio.
“The Lagarde comments reveal the cynicism and true role of the International Monetary Fund, which is responsible for the destruction of whole societies,” said SYRIZA in a statement. “PASOK and New Democracy bear huge responsibility for submitting the country to an IMF program, which leads to bankruptcy and poverty.”
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and.....
http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/1/55818
( The take from greek papers should be revealed Sunday regarding Lagarde's broadside - apparently her interview hit after press deadlines from greek papers.... )
| Press Watch, May 26 | |||||||||||||||||||
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After all the noise and uproar the Lagarde interview to the Guardian created, you could excuse the press for being a bit all over the place today. You can put a heap of money on Lagarde ruling the front pages tomorrow, but the Saturday press deadlines were just too tight to allow her to do so today.
Instead we have the front pages dealing with all sorts of nasty little items today, besides, there’s hardly a shortage of negativity to fill your plate with these days.
“Raw blackmail by the Germans as we head for national elections”, screams the slightly long-winded header of I Vradini, referring to those dastardly Germans and the fact that they’re implying that the next bumper sized box of bailout money, might be slightly delayed as the situation in Greece continues to hang in the balance. It’s all a bit like the boy that cried wolf isn’t it? Unfortunately, I’m not sure if anyone knows who the one crying wolf actually is. Or if anyone will recognize the actual wolf when he does indeed show up.
Head title of the day must go to Ta Nea today, who have seen the chance for a killer title and gone for it. “It’s name is bond, Eurobond”, the paper says with a wink and a nudge, planting Francois Hollande next to a two euro piece and of course running with the story which says that the current French president, very much sees the concept of the Eurobond as the solution to the EU predicament. Angela Merkel of course, probably had a face like thunder when she once again heard Hollande throwing the idea across the table, but I think that’s her on a good day as well. Maybe she just looks “heavily overcast” when she’s just had a makeover. Across the page, Ta Nea go for “Greece on the edge, Europe facing dilemma”. Ah, stating the obvious, please come in.
“Long uphill climb for Pasok and New Democracy” grumbles Ethnos, who sees the two bailout parties facing a highly difficult task in re-attracting the voters that they have so far lost. Syriza meanwhile, is going for a “face lift” to swing the undecided electorate over to its side of the fence, while KKE “is staging the mother of all battles”. My, are we heading for elections or a Greek version of the American Gladiators franchise?
Speaking of KKE, Rizospastis says everything is bad. Clearly, except for the KKE. Which is actually quite nice. Naturally. “Center-right with ND, or center-left with Syriza, both vehicles driving towards measures against the people” reads the impossibly long lead title, followed by a shot of young people holding aloft KKE flags and looking very happy indeed. Except for a young lady in the middle of the shot, arms folded across her chest, looking on rather bored.
Perhaps she was told she was going to a Simply Red concert. Its an easy mistake to make.
and the initial Athens News curious / confused by the timing - reaction to Lagarde's comments .....
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http://www.businessinsider.com/christine-lagarde-comments-on-greece-2012-5
Christine Lagarde Gives Explosive Interview On Greece, And Then Tries Desperately To Take It Back
ORIGINAL POST, SEE UPDATE BELOW: The game in Europe is well established by now.
The possible future leaders of Greece have to pretend they will completely defy the current agreements made with the IMF/rest of Europe.
The rest of Europe/IMF have to pretend that there is no way they'd consider backing down from their current agreements.
That being said, the latest comments from IMF chief Christine Lagarde seem like a deliberate provocation designed to get the Greek voters to shift in one direction or another.
In a Guardian interview, she agreed that it's "payback time" in Greece and that sympathy should be reserved for the children in developing countries that are the typical beneficiaries of IMF help. Furthermore, the Greeks need to point blame, she says, at tax dodging parents, rather than projecting their ire outwards.
So when she studies the Greek balance sheet and demands measures she knows may mean women won't have access to a midwife when they give birth, and patients won't get life-saving drugs, and the elderly will die alone for lack of care – does she block all of that out and just look at the sums?
"No, I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens." She breaks off for a pointedly meaningful pause, before leaning forward.
"Do you know what? As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax."
Even more than she thinks about all those now struggling to survive without jobs or public services? "I think of them equally. And I think they should also help themselves collectively." How? "By all paying their tax. Yeah."
It sounds as if she's essentially saying to the Greeks and others in Europe, you've had a nice time and now it's payback time.
"That's right." She nods calmly. "Yeah."
And what about their children, who can't conceivably be held responsible? "Well, hey, parents are responsible, right? So parents have to pay their tax."
Again, talking about Greek parents and it being "payback time" seems like language deliberately designed to invoke a reaction.
Now the question is: Which Greek politician can use that to their advantage.
UPDATE: And Lagarde is already walking things back a bit.
Via Kasia J., here's what she said on Facebook
and note the commentary as EU pols and bankers want Greece to leave or bow down....
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/05/harsh-language-from-lagarde-imf-has-no.html
Saturday, May 26, 2012 12:42 PM
Harsh Language from Lagarde: "IMF Has No Intention of Softening Terms"; From Head of Deutsche Bank: "Greece is a Failed Corrupt State"; Purposely Inflammatory Statements to Force Greece Exit
Strong messages from the head or the IMF, the head of Deutsche Bank, and the president of the Bundesbank are highly likely to drive Greek voters away from New Democracy and Pasok in the June 17 elections.
The Guardian writes It's payback time: don't expect sympathy – Lagarde to Greeks.
The Guardian writes It's payback time: don't expect sympathy – Lagarde to Greeks.
The International Monetary Fund has ratcheted up the pressure on crisis-hit Greece after its managing director, Christine Lagarde, said she has more sympathy for children deprived of decent schooling in sub-Saharan Africa than for many of those facing poverty in Athens.In an uncompromising interview with the Guardian, Lagarde insists it is payback time for Greece and makes it clear that the IMF has no intention of softening the terms of the country's austerity package.
Asked whether she is able to block out of her mind the mothers unable to get access to midwives or patients unable to obtain life-saving drugs, Lagarde replies: "I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."
"I think they should also help themselves collectively." Asked how, she replies: "By all paying their tax."
Asked if she is essentially saying to the Greeks and others in Europe that they have had a nice time and it is now payback time, she responds: "That's right."
Jens Weidmann, president of the Bundesbank, poured cold water on the idea – which is strongly backed by the French president, François Hollande – and also said financial aid to Greece should be cut off if it failed to keep to the bailout deal.
Jürgen Fitschen, joint head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche, described Greece as "a failed state … a corrupt state".Purposely Inflammatory Statements to Benefit Syriza
Those statements are not only inflammatory, but purposely so. Lagarde has to know that her message stating more sympathy to Africa than patients refused life-saving drugs in Greece is bound to incite Greeks.
Recall that Antonis Samaras (the head of New Democracy) and Evangelos Venizelos (the head of Pasok), have promised voters they will renegotiate the terms.
Greek voters just had that promise yanked away in no uncertain terms. IMF and Deutsche Bank statements also make German chancellor Angela Merkel look like a cream-puff with her offer of potential stimulus efforts.
In contrast to the lies of Samaras and Venizelos, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras says the bailout is null and void, while stating Greece will remain in the euro.
It is had to say with certainty whether his promise to remain in the eurozone is a purposeful lie as opposed to pure fantasy, but given there is no provision to kick any country out of the eurozone, he just might believe it.Lies and Bluffs
For further discussion please consider
What if Tsipras is Not Bluffing? Who Holds the Upper hand? What is Troika's Biggest Fear? Can Greece Possibly Stay in the Eurozone After Default?
Merkel's 6-Point Plan to Save Europe; Merkel Backed Into Tight Corner: Social Democrats Threaten to Not Ratify Merkozy Treaty Without Growth Measures; Merkel Coalition at Risk
IMF Purposeful Attempt to Incite Greek Exit
The IMF has had enough. It does not want to deal with a coalition of Samaras and Venizelos given falling revenues in Greece and no hint of any true structural reforms. Rather, Lagarde wants to drive Greek voters to Syriza so that Greece can default and the Troika can cut off all funding in "clear conscience"
All funding should be cut now (in fact three years ago), but the IMF hopes to absolve itself of blame.
and....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/25/payback-time-lagarde-greeks
It's payback time: don't expect sympathy – Lagarde to Greeks
Take responsibility and stop trying to avoid taxes, International Monetary Fund chief tells Athens
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The IMF has no intention of softening the terms of Greece's austerity package, says Christine Lagarde. Photograph: Emmanuel Fradin for the Guardian
The International Monetary Fund has ratcheted up the pressure on crisis-hit Greece after its managing director, Christine Lagarde, said she has more sympathy for children deprived of decent schooling in sub-Saharan Africa than for many of those facing poverty in Athens.
In an uncompromising interview with the Guardian, Lagarde insists it is payback time for Greece and makes it clear that the IMF has no intention of softening the terms of the country's austerity package.
Using some of the bluntest language of the two-and-a-half-year debt crisis, she says Greek parents have to take responsibility if their children are being affected by spending cuts. "Parents have to pay their tax," she says.
Greece, which has seen its economy shrink by a fifth since the recession began, has been told to cut wages, pensions and public spending in return for financial help from the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank.
Asked whether she is able to block out of her mind the mothers unable to get access to midwives or patients unable to obtain life-saving drugs, Lagarde replies: "I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."
Lagarde, predicting that the debt crisis has yet to run its course, adds: "Do you know what? As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax." She says she thinks "equally" about Greeks deprived of public services and Greek citizens not paying their tax.
"I think they should also help themselves collectively." Asked how, she replies: "By all paying their tax."
Asked if she is essentially saying to the Greeks and others in Europe that they have had a nice time and it is now payback time, she responds: "That's right."
The intervention by Lagarde comes after the caretaker Greek government met to discuss a sharp fall in tax revenues – down by a third in a year. Under the terms of the country's bailout, Athens has agreed to improve Greece's poor record for tax collection in order to reduce its budget deficit, and Lagarde's remarks are evidence of a growing impatience in the international community. Reports surfaced in Germany and France of preparations being made to cope with Greece's possible departure from the single currency after its election on 17 June.
Belgium's deputy prime minister, Didier Reynders, said it would be a "serious professional error" if central banks and companies did not prepare for an exit.
The euro came under fresh attack on the foreign exchanges, dropping below €1.25 at one point on Friday, as the Spanish government was in talks to pump up to €19bn of rescue finance into Bankia, one of the country's biggest banks, and the Catalan regional government sought financial help from Madrid to deal with its debts.
Signs emerged of a widening gulf between Germany and France over whether common eurobonds should be issued to help those countries, such as Greece and Spain, with high interest rates on their debt.
Jens Weidmann, president of the Bundesbank, poured cold water on the idea – which is strongly backed by the French president, François Hollande – and also said financial aid to Greece should be cut off if it failed to keep to the bailout deal.
Jürgen Fitschen, joint head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche, described Greece as "a failed state … a corrupt state". Separately, however, there were reports suggesting that the chancellor, Angela Merkel, was dusting down the economic modernisation plan used to revive East Germany after the fall of communism in the belief that similar measures could be applied to Greece and other struggling eurozone countries. Today's Der Spiegel magazine says Merkel will present a six-point plan based on the East German blueprint as a growth strategy. It includes measures such as privatisation, looser employment law and lower tax rates.
Opinion polls are pointing to a close race between parties backing and opposing the terms of Greece's €130bn bailout, but neither Germany nor the IMF has demonstrated any willingness to water down Greece's austerity programme.
In her interview Lagarde says Greece is not getting softer treatment than a poor country in the developing world, and that the IMF does not find it harder to impose strong conditions on a rich nation.
"No, it's not harder. No. Because it's the mission of the fund, and it's my job to say the truth, whoever it is across the table. And I tell you something: it's sometimes harder to tell the government of low-income countries, where people live on $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000 per capita per year, to actually strengthen the budget and reduce the deficit. Because I know what it means in terms of welfare programmes and support for the poor. It has much bigger ramifications."
and closing the borders talk continues , this time the UK plans to cutoff greek escapees
and closing the borders talk continues , this time the UK plans to cutoff greek escapees
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and.....
and meanwhile Greeks tell ole alligator hide Lagarde to F.O............
| Poll shows Syriza in ballot lead | |||
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The Syriza party is maintaining its poll lead ahead of a June 17 election that is deemed critical to the country's continued membership of the euro zone, a poll showed on Thursday.
The Public Issue/Skai TV poll showed Syriza leading with 30 percent of the vote, four points ahead of the New Democracy party, which is backing the bailout. In a previous survey by the same pollster on May 19, Syriza was leading with 28 percent to New Democracy's 24 percent.
If repeated on June 17, such a result would give Syriza a big majority in the country's parliament, even though not a big enough one to rule alone.
The Public Issue/Skai Tv poll in full goes as follows:
Syriza 30%
New Democracy 26%
Pasok 15.5%
Independent Greeks 8%
Democratic Left 6.5%
KKE 5%
Golden Dawn 4%
ReCreate Greece - Drasi 3%
Rest 2%
But another survey published on Thursday by Data RC, a little-known pollster, showed New Democracy slightly ahead with 29.4 percent to Syriza's 28.8 percent.
Polls since the May 6 election have shown Syriza and the two pro-bailout parties all improving their performance at the expense of smaller parties.
The failure of New Democracy and Pasok, the two parties that dominated Greece for decades to win a
pro-bailout majority, and the success of the anti-bailout Syriza party which came second, have sent shock
waves through Europe.
If Greece renounces the bailout, EU leaders say they will pull the plug on funding, leading to rapid bankruptcy and an exit from the single currency.
The overwhelming majority of Greeks, 85 percent according to Public Issue, want to keep the euro. But at the same time they oppose the austerity conditions agreed with the EU and IMF. (Reuters/AthensNews)
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