BoG Gov. Stournaras: Grexit Would Have Turned Us Into Syria

Former finance minister and current Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. Yannis Stournaras, among the most prominent “old hands” during the country’s bailout era, on Thursday detailed his intimate experiences from that period – by the far the most tumultuous since the restoration of democracy in 1974.

In an uncharacteristically frank interview, by central bank governors’ standards, Stournaras was first queried over the Samaras-Venizelos coalition government (in which he served as the FinMin), along the pivotal role of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the three successive memorandums-cum bailouts agreed to and implemented by separate Greek governments, as well as the controversial and – in the end – futile negotiations with institutional creditors by Alexis Tsipras’ coalition government in the first half of 2015.

Speaking on a live talk radio program broadcast by Athens-based Skai FM, Stournaras also fielded questions over press speculation that he’s a like candidate to be the country’s next president of the republic – a ceremonial head of state post filled by Parliament vote.