The Greek case proves Hungary right
May 29th, 2015A conservative analyst argues that Hungary might have found herself in the same tragic position as Greece, had the government not sent the International Monetary Fund packing in time.
In Magyar Nemzet, Anna Szabó thinks western partners should realise that they have more to lose than gain by forcing Greece to comply with their agenda. Greece’s fall would endanger the southern flank of the EU and would entail grave geopolitical consequences in a region that has to tackle a mounting flow of refugees across the Mediterranean Sea. Past Greek governments should be held responsible for irresponsibly miring their country in debt, she writes, but the EU also acted irresponsibly by admitting Greece to the Eurozone on the basis of forged macroeconomic indicators. The kind of debt servicing creditors prescribed, Szabó continues, was suicidal in the sense that rigorous austerity did free funds for interest payments but plunged Greece into recession and thereby pushed her towards insolvency. Liabilities are thus mutual, she says and mutual efforts are needed to prevent Greece’s free fall into catastrophe. Hungary, Szabó recalls, closed down the IMF office in Budapest two years ago, after opting for advance debt repayment.”The Greek example shows what we managed to avoid”, she concludes.