In a speech on Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the International Monetary Fund had ‘criminal responsibility’ for Greece’s financial situation, according to Bloomberg. His comments come as Greece and its lenders remain deadlocked in their debt negotiations. But Dr. Dennis Novy, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick said there is some truth in Tsipras statement ‘in that Greece was really forced to its knees because of the austerity program imposed by the IMF and European Union Commission.’ Novy pointed out the Greek economy went down by 25% since the last peak and that unemployment also stands at about 25%. ‘These are horrible numbers they are Great Depression level and Greece is in a big mess to some extent because of the imposed austerity. So I can understand there’s a lot of anger on the Greek side,’ said Novy. But he added Greece is also responsible ‘for the mess that they’re in.’ Novy added the financial bleeding of Greece will continue, with the stock market down substantially and more people pulling their money out of Greek bank accounts, creating a serious risk of a liquidity crisis in Greece. ‘Even if Greece does get a new bailout package in the next couple of days, this will continue for years and years, because the Greek economy has to recover,’ said Novy.
Subscribe to TheStreetTV on YouTube:
For more content from TheStreet visit:
Check out all our videos:
Follow TheStreet on Twitter:
Like TheStreet on Facebook:
Follow TheStreet on LinkedIn:
Follow TheStreet on Google+:
source
