Greece’s creditors are paying the price for not relaxing their conditions prior to the 2015 election

Greece has submitted new proposals to its creditors in June 2015 in an attempt to finally end the deadlock over the release of further bailout funding. Stephanie J. Rickard writes that the present impasse could have been avoided if the strategy pursued by the International Monetary Fund in previous loan programmes to other countries had been repeated. Drawing on a study of democratic countries under IMF programmes, she notes that the IMF has typically relaxed loan programme requirements in the leadup to elections. By failing to do so in the Greek case, the foundations were set for Syriza to come to power on an anti-austerity platform, making a compromise far more difficult.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Greece skips IMF payment, buys itself time http://www.europeansources.info/record/greece-skips-imf-payment-buys-itself-time/

ESO: Background information: The Greek debt crisis: Key sources http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-greek-debt-crisis-key-sources/

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