Greek Economy

The PM engaged in petty partisan bargaining with his former coalition partner in the hope of ensuring his own interests.

The climate that the PM and his junior coalition partner have cultivated is a far cry from political stability.

Participants included Hellenic Bank Association President Nikos Karamouzis, German Hellenic Chamber President Michalis Mailis, Aegean Airlines President Eftychios Vasilakis, Cosmote CEO Michael Tsamaz, and Evangelos Mytilineos.

The talks also touched on tax cuts that ND has proposed, attracting investment, and continuing on the path of structural reforms.

The party of the prime minister, SYRIZA, was among the political forces that exploited the indignation citizens and indeed fueled it.

'This is not the end of reforms but rather the beginning. The problems have not entirely been transcended,' Merkel said.

Greece's 7.6bn euro primary surplus for the first 11 months of 2018 (about four percent of GDP), was a whopping 2.8bn euros more than the Greek finance ministry's predicted.

The discussions will begin by examining the so-called “[Louka] Katselis law”, which has until now protected debtors’ primary residences (with a strict ceiling on their levels of income and assets) from foreclosure and auction.

In the economy, careful steps and even more so prudence are needed, especially since the international environment of late has been especially unstable.

The SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition is rushing to make citizens believe that the country is returning to normalcy and that due to its goodness it is handing out money and hiring pledges right and left.

One-third of Greeks are worried about their jobs, while 28 percent are worried about the economy overall, 26 percent are worried about their personal health, and 23 percent are worried over their debts.

Political normalcy requires clears rules of the game. It means that a government does not live and breathe only with elections in mind, without setting their date.

It would be a potentially fatal error for society to believe that the economy is back on track. In fact, there is a long road ahead.

'An economic policy grounded on over-taxation has an expiration date and an economic development model based exclusively on consumption and imports is by its very nature skewed.'

In 2019, the debt of the Central Government is projected to be 346.2mn euros, or 179.6 percent of GDP, a 12.8 percentage point reduction as compared to 2018.

The aim of the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government is clear. It wants to win over as many social groups and strata as possible so as to avert an electoral trouncing.

Theodoros Fessas, the head of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, underlined that “All politicians, on both sides [the two largest political parties] are distributing money which does not exist,” he said.

It does not suffice for Greece to prove its own trustworthiness, because it is linked to the trustworthiness of other weak links in the eurozone.

Investors are discouraged, when affairs are revealed that bolster their distrust, and when an investigation of these cases and the assignment of responsibility is an exceptionally slow process.

For citizens, the end of the period of bailout memorandums does not translate into an improvement in the economy or in their personal economic situation.

Main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a message of unity, underlining that solutions are not right-wing or left-wing, but just plain solutions.

Interview with Governor of the Bank of Finland

Greek citizens know what the post-bailout reality is. They are absolutely cognizant of the fact that that there will be a long, uphill road.

'Over the past few years, people in Germany, myself included, have sympathised deeply as Greece has fought to repair its economy,' Weidmann said.      

'Today we can safely conclude the ESM programme with no more follow-up rescue programmes, as for the first time since early 2010 Greece can stand on its own feet,' said Eurogroup chief Mario Centeno