The report of the IMF’s independent commission on the Fund’s participation in funding the first bailout, despite documenting objections and observations that have been expressed for some time, has its importance, as it is the first time that they are accepted by an institutional body of the creditors. The mistakes documented in the report relate to sidestepping the IMF’s internal procedures in order for the Fund to grant its largest loan ever to a country. They are directly associated to Greece, since the condition overlooked was that of debt sustainability.

It has been known for some time now that the IMF and Greece have fallen victim to Europe’s lack of preparation to address a crisis that could systemic upheaval. As a result the necessary debt restructure was put off and even the PSI was delayed. The Fund’s ambitious predictions regarding progress in the Greek program were denied – not just because of the excessive expectations, but also our lack of preparation and incapability.

Because, while it is convenient to blame the crisis on the mistakes of others, our own problems played a decisive role in the failure to implement the program. Just like Mrs. Lagarde explained in her statements, despite the initial goals turning out to be overambitious, the program was undermined by the repeated political crises, reactions from interests and the major problems of implementation resulted in an even deeper recession than expected.

That is how today we are paying for Europe’s lack of preparation and obsessions, the IMF’s ambitious estimations and our political system’s complete inability to understand the circumstances, so that there can be a minimum consensus in forming a common front to address the crisis. With few exceptions, party interests, corporatist demands and the failure to recognize the international balance prevailed.

We should therefore congratulate the IMF for recognizing, even after such a delay, its responsibilities, but let us not deceive ourselves and cultivate conspiracy theories. When after six years of crisis and constant taxation we have not managed to agree upon a national strategy, irrespective of how many mistakes are recognized, no IMF or European leaders will help us out of the tunnel…

TO VIMA