DislikedYes their participation in the haircut would have made things much easier... but then if they had participated, then so would the EU and the IMF. Furthermore, the ECB is prohibited from paying the debts of EZ countries and on top of that, each EZ country is also prohibited from paying the debts of other EZ countries. Therefore it is easy to see why it could not be done.
In the cold world of finance (and some may argue, politics), those who spend beyond their means are the ones who have to pay the ultimate price. Hence Greece, through the sweat...Ignored
I would argue that in the cold world of politics that when those without power pay the ultimate price when those with power f*ck up.
It looks like the Greeks got a break until you think about what they could have done if they were not tied to the Euro: 100% default of 100% of bond, devalue their currency and raise money through import duties.
However, the net effect is that the ECB will own a large portion of Greek output for the next couple of decades, which, to me, seems pretty wrong.