Do not misread the debt deal
Greece has defaulted. Thankfully, it was an orderly default. The 50 percent haircut on Greek bonds, agreed in Brussels after lengthy negotiations between European Union leaders and private banks this week, cannot be interpreted a ?success? that could spare Greece of the effort to make true on its commitments to international lenders.
George Papandreou, the socialist prime minister, would make a criminal mistake to believe that his government can shoulder the burden of the coming months on its own.
Neither Papandreou, nor any other politician of the opposition should nourish any such delusions. Another failure does not mean another haircut, but rather a painful exit from the eurozone.
As for those critics out there who like to complain about the loss of national sovereignty in the wake of the eurozone deal, it looks like what they really want is to protect an ailing and corrupt status quo from the rectifying impact of a European supervision.
