Faced with the crisis, we had to support Greece – it was a question of solidarity. We also had to involve the IMF which, unlike Europe, had experience in supporting countries through crises. And it was essential to reduce public expenditure, because Greece was clearly living beyond its means.
This development augurs well for firms’ ability to grant wage increases to their employees without putting upward pressure on prices. In housing markets, low mortgage interest rates and favorable weather have provided considerable support to homebuilding in recent months.