La Repubblica: “The banks were saved, not the Greek people”

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica has accused the EU, ECB and IMF troika of saving the banks, rather than the Greek people, in a article published online, which is based on the findings of the UK-based Jubilee Debt Campaign NGO.

According to the author Ettore Livini, the bailout program implemented in Greece aimed to save the financial sector, by transferring the debt from the private to the public sector. The British NGO, which the journalist cites, claims that less than 10% of the 240 billion euros loans to Greece ended up in the people’s hand. The rest, claims the NGO, went towards supporting the banking sector and paying off interest rates.

Furthermore, the Italian author argues that the NGO’s report supports SYRIZA in the upcoming electoral standoff, as the radical left party is demanding a debt write off in order to boost the economy. The NGO further claims that a Debt Conference is necessary, but should that fail, Athens will be in the position to default, while remaining in the Eurozone though, which will benefit the country’s GDP.

Meanwhile, the newspaper article underlines how Greece has “fallen victim to its own mistakes” and that without the troika’s funding, which necessitated a series of painful austerity measures, the country would have default years again. The article concludes with a comment by former Italian PM and Foreign Affairs Minister Massimo D’ Alema, who expressed his hope that the Greek people will react against the unjust policies that have been imposed.