July 6, 2011
As he approached the end of another 16-hour workday, Evangelos Venizelos had one question on his mind: Will Europe come up with the money that Greece so desperately needs? As the new Greek finance minister, Mr. Venizelos is the man in charge of steering a nearly bankrupt economy back on track — and, perhaps, preventing another global financial crisis.
No sooner had he presided over the close passage of a new austerity bill last week, than he was contending with the growing controversy over how much money private banks would contribute by taking on more Greek debt.
And as he prepared to travel to Berlin on Wednesday to make the case to Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, that Greece could fulfill its end of the bargain, Europe’s assistance was just one of the challenges that lay before him.
“This is a problem for not just Greece and Europe but for the global economy,” Mr. Venizelos said as he sank into a chair in his office late Tuesday evening.
His face was slightly pale and his eyes tired — the consequence of a relentless work pace that takes him from arm-twisting stubborn party members to support the government’s program to leading tense negotiations with Greece’s creditors in Europe.
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