Bailout

Bob Traa, the first International Monetary Fund representative in Greece after the country signed its first bailout program, has blamed the Greek political system for failing both to introduce the necessary reforms in the early stages of the program and to forge a degree of political consensus to deal with serious matters.

Greece's bailout exit has been eliciting condescending and bitter commentary on the country's beaches and in its near-deserted cities, as few Greeks believes their lives are going to improve or that the country's prospects will be akin to those of other bailed-out eurozone states.

Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis called on Greece's central banker to resign on Sunday, seemingly irked by Yannis Stournaras' warning that the country has to press on with reforms even after its third bailout program expires on Monday.

No matter how much the government toots its own horn, no matter what it says, Greece's formal exit from the bailout program does not mean that the country has reached the end of an era and is turning over a brand-new leaf.

Greece still has 'a long way to go' to fix imbalances in its economy and problems in the functioning of the state after the country officially exits its latest bailout program on Monday, the country's central bank governor said in an interview with Kathimerini, published on Sunday.

As Greece prepares for its official exit from its third bailout program on Monday, the country's conservative opposition on Saturday renewed its call for snap elections.

Any changes in reforms that are being implemented in Greece as part of its adjustment program and any future reforms to be implemented after the program's completion will have to be agreed with its creditors, Eurogroup President Mario Centeno told Ta Nea newspaper's weekend edition.

Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak promised on Aug. 16 the country will emerge "stronger" from the currency crisis sparked by a diplomatic spat with the United States, and ruled out an IMF bailout.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Tuesday sought to quell concerns over a possible spillover effect from Turkey's deepening economic crisis, saying problems in the neighboring country will not affect Greece's "clean exit" from its third bailout program on August 21.

A lot has been said about the mistakes made by Greece's lenders during the bailout programs. The fact is they made many errors, including some serious ones. Meanwhile, Greek politicians were responsible for refusing to take ownership of the required reforms and failing to reach a degree of basic consensus.