Abstract

For two years, Europe’s political, business, and press elites have produced disastrous diagnoses and even more disastrous prescriptions for Greece’s ills. No convincing cure seemed in sight until Oct. 27, when the outlines of a plausible treatment plan emerged in Brussels. Europe’s leaders finally admitted what had been unspeakable: that Greece’s government needed major debt relief — a so-called “50 percent haircut’’; that Greece’s banks needed recapitalization; and that to stem contagion, a turbo-charged, leveraged-up financial stability fund must be created. The markets soared on the news, and editorials proclaimed a “new beginning.’’ “Merkozy’’ - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy - had apparently finally delivered a cure.

Citation

Parker, Richard. "Papandreou’s Fall." Boston Globe, November 15, 2011.