POLITICAL parties in Greece have criticised IMF head Christine Lagarde for suggesting that Greeks were avoiding paying taxes.Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos accused Ms Lagarde of “insulting the Greek people”.Left-wing leader Alexis Tsipras insisted: “Greek workers pay their taxes, which are unbearable.”In her interview with the UK’s Guardian newspaper, Ms Lagarde suggested it was payback time for Greece.She said she was more concerned about poverty-stricken children in sub-Saharan Africa than Greeks hit by the economic crisis.Greece has promised to implement tough austerity measures in return for a multi-billion euro EU-IMF bailout. But the deal is under threat following inconclusive elections in May.After thousands of angry messages were posted on her Facebook page, the head of the International Monetary Fund wrote that she was “very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing”.“That’s why the IMF is supporting Greece in its endeavour to overcome the current crisis,” she said.
