ABSTRACT
In the period after the end of World War II the Hellenic Republic did not enjoy political stability. It suffered from a Civil War from 1945 until 1949 and from a military junta from 1967 until 1974. Nevertheless, its Western orientation and its subsequent co-operation with the USA in the struggle against the Soviet Union guaranteed its economic survival. There is a common element in all Greek administrations from 1981 onwards which can explain the current drama: statism. The unreliability of statistics was also analysed by a Greek former member of the International Monetary Fund. Costas Karamanlis warned the Greek people for the first time that a policy based on austerity measures would be the only remedy for the country amid the financial crisis. International messages that the Greek economy was problematic started to become widespread in 2009.
