The bell tolls for democracy and solidarity in modern Greek tragedy

As the first of four scheduled repayments to the International Monetary Fund this month falls due, Economist Ray Kinsella suggests that Greece should leave the eurozone, as its punishing repayments and austerity programme demonstrate that democracy is long dead in Europe

THE first of four scheduled repayments for June by Greece to the IMF falls due today. Greece does not have the money to repay these loans. Importantly, repayments to the IMF are senior to all other international obligations, amounting to €330bn, or 180% of GDP, and rising. This means a failure by Greece to repay IMF loans would trigger a default in respect of this wider set of creditors. In the absence of some alchemy or yet another fudge, this means Grexit.

In Ireland, as in other eurozone countries, the reaction to what is happening varies from boredom to exasperation. There is precious little sympathy; much less support. This response is misconceived. It is the product of a revisionism that has more to do with the acceptance of German hegemony across the eurozone than with a balanced appreciation of the deeply flawed macroeconomic and political narrative that is unfolding for Greece and for Europe.