Reflections on the Greek and Eurozone Crisis: A View from the Inside

In this chapter, George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece between October 2009 and November 2011, provides his own assessment of and unique insights into various aspects of the crisis in Greece and Europe, including the rationale behind his government’s decisions and actions. It is based on a conversation with the editors, Georgios Karyotis and Roman Gerodimos, which took place in Brussels on 4 April 2014. To ensure that the conversation is well integrated into the book’s overall narrative, echoing themes, issues and criticisms raised elsewhere, all contributors were invited to propose questions for Mr Papandreou that relate to preceding chapters. The conversation loosely follows the four- part structure of the book, covering aspects relevant to the framing, policies, politics and comparative implications of economic crisis management and extreme austerity.