Dionysis Chionis: The Greek economy entering a decade-long tunnel

I think it is now understood that we are not talking about the crisis and recession of the Greek economy caused by Covid-19 but about the crisis and recession of the 2020s. For those who still dispute this view and believe that it is a cyclical temporary GDP decline let’s take a look at the economic data.

According to the latest data, there is not a single indicator that has not fallen in an economy with deflation at -1.8%, with debt approaching 200% of GDP and an external balance deficit close to 8% of GDP. Today more than ever there is a need to finally end the era of artful carelessness and unreasonable optimism about the course of the economy. The measures to end the crisis so far would be more suited to a cyclical downturn in the Luxembourg or Danish economies.

In order to return to reality, a capable and necessary condition is to give pressing answers to the following questions:

A substantive answer needs to be given to the crucial question of who will cover our national deficit. That is, the sum of the budget deficit (perhaps even emergency measures), interest arrears and the external balance deficit.

Also, no substantive answer has been given as to the origin of the resources that will finance the recovery of the economy as there is no substantial indication for the financing of the economy from the recovery fund for the next year and a half as well as for the method of disbursement after 2022.

The public debate and the economic policy agenda cannot be exhausted and entrenched exclusively in the way of managing the resources of a fund that does not yet have resources or in an ethical approach to society and ethics, delving into the already infinitely reiterated issues from the 1980s. This fact is a global originality. Issues such as the lack of: labor productivity, modernization of public administration, speeding up justice, etc. continue to be a brake on the economy.

They have not been resolved even with the ten-year adventure of the memoranda and continue to haunt society but it should be noted that in the event of major crises and escalating unemployment a hierarchy must placed on problems. The obsession with the above proves that there is a substantial problem of perception of reality and concealment of the dominant problems, along political lines.