Putting Politics above Markets: A Greek Tragedy

Cato Institute
Policy Forum
April 8, 2010

Featuring Takis Michas, Staff writer for the Greek national daily, Eleftherotypia; with comments by Patrick Welter, Economics Correspondent, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Moderated by Ian Vásquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.

The Greek government's debt of more than 120 percent of GDP and its staggering fiscal deficit of 12.7 percent in 2009 has threatened the euro and is creating divisions within the European Union. Takis Michas, one of Greece's leading journalists, will explain how a long tradition of political clientelism in his country bloated the public sector and culminated in crisis. He will critique the government's response as inadequate and all Greek political parties for continuing to blame the turmoil on Anglo-Saxon capitalism. Patrick Welter will comment on the impact of the Greek debt crisis on the European Union.