A Very Enlightening Interview

Josef Ackermann's interview at the German Spiegel dates back to the year 2011 but offers very useful insight about the background of the Greek dilemma. Mr. Ackermann was the CEO of Deutsche Bank at the time and in that capacity was heavily involved in the negotiations of the "Greek deal" with political leaders and lenders of the country at the time. He provides a very useful analysis of how the problem was created in the first place and questions not only the Maastricht criteria and how they were partially ignored or poorly implemented especially in the case of weaker economies such as the one of Greece, but also offers a very sober analysis of the situation from a banker's perspective. He highlights the issues that were relevant in the thought process of State leaders, who openly admitted that they were unable to address their domestic parliaments and seek more financial support for Greece, but provides also a purely economic analysis of possible solutions and required conditions to get there. Finally, he also entertains the views of plenty of his discussion partners at the time who were in favour of letting Greece just go bankrupt. He explains the reasoning that was applied and the possible risks of such a bankruptcy for the rest of the Eurozone. He speaks not only of contagious phenomena but also of pschycological aspects and the global trust damage in the image of the EU. In conclusion, it seems that his statements are confirming exactly the statements floating in the country in the same period of time in the public discussions on the topic. One of the important aspects that he mentioned in the solution process is revolving around Greece's ability to carry its debt, while working on the requirements to overcome its gloomy economic environment at the same time. To joggle all these diverging aspects into one decision seems challenging even to the naked eye. Yet, at the same time it does restore a bit the trust in the EU institutions, who in the process of their own loss-cutting effort benefited Greece. Thank you for that collateral benefit even if not entirely intended.

http://www.spiegel.tv/filme/dbate-interview-ackermann/