It occurred to me whether the outrage engined out of Greece over Cristine Lagarde's statements this week was merely coincidental to the country's current political vacuum with no other perceived wrongdo-ers to target. I think it was.
The type and tone in cascating popular reactions shows how one an international institution like the IMF is commencing to integrate into member countries, becoming part of the local civil society (and this in substitution of local national leaders).
It is a sign that people are starting to accept the inevitable presence of the IMF, in one way or the other, impacting day-to-day life, going forward. Basically the Greek are starting to treat Cristine Lagarde as one of their own and that does imply that occasional harsh institutional statements trigger personal mud throwing. I suppose the various local election runners are grateful for the deviation.
When I was a student, the IMF and the World Bank were clear landmarks of the developed world, active only amongst populations in the developing world. A nice and clear geographical divide and any outrages from one or the other head of a developing African state on forms of neocolonist attitudes were easily set aside for the greater good of lifting a country's population out of their misery.
Cristine Lagarde did state a week earlier, when most of the world was inclining to give up on an ungovernable Greece, that the IMF was open to listen to ideas on how to do a more effective job. It is not out of place or time to remind people in Greece, nor the many around the world that seek immediate solidarity, where the IMF really comes from and - unfortunately - still has a lot of work to do.
While the IMF's active role in politics in a traditionally more developed world is becoming part of daily life, do we really want its leaders to also wonder and ponder the politically correct declarations we think we want to hear ?
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