In fact, Greece's international creditors have made revamping its notoriously lax tax system a primary condition for any additional bailout financing.
As the government determines its spending plans, readying another infusion of cash for troubled banks while contemplating an additional bailout for the auto industry, the magnitude of those needs will hinge on the extent of the damage.
Mr Samaras also played down suggestions that Greece would be asking for an additional bailout on top of the €170bn pledged to it by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other European governments since May 2010 to avoid bankruptcy.
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund promised Greece 110 billion euros in loans last year and are now discussing an additional bailout to save Greece from default and avert a crisis in the euro zone.
The fund is considering that step now because of the possibility of additional bailouts, as one country after another turns to it for help.
Providing additional bailouts without such budget pressure would only encourage further profligacy, the Germans contend, and it could set off inflation.
The sounder countries aid the fiscally troubled ones, but also try to control those nations' spending, if only to limit potential future exposure through additional bailouts.
The treasury chief sidestepped questions about what would have happened if the Fed had not ridden to the rescue, whether other firms are on shaky ground and the possibility of additional bailouts similar to the short-term rescue of Bear Stearns.
Market sentiment has seesawed in the past months amid diverging signals from European politicians about their willingness to provide further financing to countries that have already requested a rescue and prepare for possible additional bailouts.
Ms. Merkel's triumph and the fact that the anti-euro party Alternative for Germany fell short of the total needed to enter Parliament may allow her more freedom to address problems like the likelihood that Greece, Portugal and Slovenia will need additional bailouts.
