International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde (in picture) has angered Greece with her comments in an interview with British newspaper the Guardian. It's an unusual case; normally comments that provoke to anger fall into one of two categories, a simple 'gaff,' which is hastily retracted or an out of context comment, such as John Lennon's famous remark on Jesus Christ.

But Lagarde's answers to questions about Greece don't belong to either camp. In her interview with the Guardian, when asked if she tries to “block out” the potential suffering caused in Greece by IMF demands she replied, "No, I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."

She went on to attack the Greeks on tax payment. “As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax." Lagarde said Greeks should all contribute to the country's recovery by paying their taxes and in conclusion, agreed that Europe had had a “nice time” and now it was time to pay for it.

Lagarde has since made some conciliatory remarks on her Facebook page, but, has not retracted her original statement. She said she was "very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing," quoted by the BBC. Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos said Lagarde's stance had “insulted the Greek people.” Greece will vote again in June, and it is still unclear if the left wing group advocating the breaking of the deal with the EU and the IMF or other groups that support continuing compliance will win.

Read the Guardian interview with Christine Lagarde.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com