George Papaconstantinou studied economics in the UK and the US, obtaining a PhD from the London School of Economics. After working for ten years at the OECD in Paris, he returned to Greece to serve in a policy advisory role for the Greek government. In 2007, he was elected to the Greek Parliament, and in 2009 to the European Parliament. In October 2009 he was appointed Finance Minister in the newly formed government of George Papandreou and in that position he played a key role in the Greek debt crisis, negotiating the first bailout with the EU and the IMF.

Part I Crisis

1. How we got here2. It seemed like a good idea at the time3. Caught in the headlights4. The fire-fighters5. Fixing the bicycle while riding it6. A dysfunctional family

Part II: Post-Crisis

7. We are not in Kansas anymore8. And then there were9. Saving the currency10. Squaring the institutional circle11. The new geopolitics12. The complicated nature of twenty-first century democracyEpilogue: the way ahead