The pro-government take on Greece
July 8th, 2015A right-wing commentator compares the mood of the Greek public to the way Hungarians felt after 1995, in the aftermath of a stiff austerity package introduced by Lajos Bokros, then Socialist Finance Minister and now Conservative member of the European Parliament.
In Napi Gazdaság, Bálint Deák says Hungarians “looked on appalled” at the sight of the Forint losing another per cent in Monday’s trading, as a result of the outcome of the Greek referendum, but should “take a step back” and try to understand the Greek voters. The reason why they have chosen “the path of uncertainty” rather than the therapy offered by the creditors, must be very familiar to the Hungarian public, he thinks. Exactly twenty years ago, the “Bokros-package” resulted in a sharp decline in living standards and eventually caused the fall of the left-wing government, in 1998. The Greek population apparently fears another “Bokros-like package” more than embarking on unchartered territory, the pro-government commentator explains.