The misperceptions and errors by leaders in Germany and other creditor countries have been as damaging as those on the part of the less-experienced Greek leaders. For example, the belief that fiscal austerity raises income, rather than lowering it, even in the short run, was a mistake, as was the refusal in 2010 to write down the debt.
外部债权人政府也有可能不理性。德国和其他债权国领导人的误解和错误与经验欠缺的希腊领导人的误解和错误一样危险。比如，认为财政紧缩增加而不是降低了收入（哪怕是短期收入）就是一个错误，2010年拒绝减记债务亦然。这些错误解释了为何今天的希腊债务/GDP之比比当时还要高。