IMF’s Lagarde not “terribly optimistic” over Greece

27 January 2012 | By Rob Langston

However, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, the IMF chief said she was not “terribly optimistic or positive” about the the progress made by greek authorities so far.

She says: “It is very simple from my point of view. The country has to do lots of things: structural adjustment, fiscal consolidation, it has to be stretched over the right period of time.”

Lagarde adds: “My concern is to put Greece on its feet, to make sure it one day returns to market and it is not kept out of water by third parties.”

However, Lagarde says she was pleased that negotiations were underway for “something that is significant and substantial”.

“If everybody does what everybody has to do, that includes the private sector, the official sector, [and] the country that have to provide the adjustment [and] need to have the courage to get on the path and not get off track,” she says. “Then default will be avoided. But it is a requirement that people do what they have to do.”

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