Greeks feel ‘betrayed’ by German leadership

What’s it like to be in Greece today? We talked to Elena Karanatis, who helped produce Marketplace’s broadcast from Athens this week, and asked her about the International Monetary Fund’s statement that it will not back a Greek bailout deal that does not involve debt relief. 

“People don’t think that the IMF is the worst villain anymore,” Karanatis says. Now Greek ire rests on the German leadership, she says. “Some people feel really betrayed.… They think that the German leadership is treating Greece in a hostile way.”

For much of the debt crisis, many people in Greece have felt that the IMF was against them and their best interests. Karanatis says that this may be changing. “I think people here are starting to welcome the IMF report because they show that the debt is not viable at all.”

The terms are going to be voted on by the Greek parliament Wednesday night.

“The truth is that this agreement is really harsh, and it seems very unfair for most of Greek people who kept hoping for a better agreement,” Karanatis says.