The swing in Greece’s fiscal position from a large primary deficit to a surplus was almost unprecedented, but the demand that the country achieve a primary surplus of 4.5% of GDP was unconscionable. Unfortunately, at the time that the “troika” – the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund – first included this irresponsible demand in the international financial program for Greece, the country’s authorities had no choice but to accede to it.
希腊财政处境从大规模初级赤字转为盈余，如此进步几乎前所未见，但要求该国实现初级盈余达到GDP的4.5%是不合理的。不幸的是，“三驾马车”——欧盟委员会、欧洲央行和国际货币基金组织（IMF）——首次将这一不负责任的要求纳入希腊国际金融计划中时，希腊当局别无选择，只能屈从。