Dublin, Lisbon and Madrid have beaten the bailout. That’s no comfort to Athens
by Heather Stewart from on (#EQBG)
In Ireland, Portugal and Spain, the IMF has left and at least the semblance of growth has returned. But Greece's problems put it in a class of its own
They used to be pejoratively labelled the "Pigs": Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain, the "peripheral" countries carried into the eurozone on a wave of prosperity that were all forced to go cap in hand to their neighbours - and the International Monetary Fund - when the financial crash came.
Yet while Greece's plight has only worsened over the five years since it was first rescued, the other three bailed-out countries have managed to return to growth, and send the inspectors from the International Monetary Fund back to Washington.
A lot of the Spanish story is a function of exports. In 2009-10, factories were relocating from eastern Europe to Spain
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