The completion of the review in June cultivated some expectations of stability and recovery in Greece and the economy.
However what came after was not so encouraging. The British referendum clouded the atmosphere once again, generating waves of insecurity across Europe.
London is already suffering from the flight of businesses, from the devaluation of the pound and the instances of ungovernability after the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union.
Doubts were raised almost immediately over the European foundation’s stability, with the banks on the Old Continent being the first victim. The values of most of them suffered, which in turn highlighted the troubled Italian credit institutions, as well as the lack of supervision of the German credit sector. The calls from Italy for solutions outside the rules of the European banking union generated news waves of doubt and a fiercer response from Mario Draghi, who cannot leave the European banking union exposed in its first steps.
On the contrary, he will do everything in his power to implement the new rules. This was confirmed in the case of the Greek banks, where the managements will be evaluated on their commitment to these principles and their willingness to manage NPLs and the efforts to restructured problematic private enterprises. And this is where the Greek complication begins.
The threat of a mass collapse is real, as evident by the Marinopoulos supermarket chain filling for bankruptcy and protection for protection from its creditors, as did the Jetoil oil company which was unfortunately accompanied by the tragic suicide of Kyriakos Mamidakis.
The “stricter” credit rules, in conjunction with dominant since last summer credit crunch conditions, along with the political climate which the government is creating itself with its rhetoric of hatred towards bankers and businessmen, are further perpetuating the sense of uncertainty and are creating the conditions for a perfect storm.
A possible collapse, for example, of the Marinopoulos group will affect a slew of SMEs, which in turn will have a major impact on employment and the economy as a whole.
More so if similar collapses occur in the near future, as it is rumored lately.
Perhaps some of these could be avoided, if there was a climate of consensus in the country, which could encourage and promote buy-outs, mergers and restructures. Something like that though required leadership with a spirit for creation.
Ours, unfortunately, is trained only in political tricks. It exhausts itself in electoral laws, referendums and pointless struggles, which can only guarantee catastrophe and nothing else…
Antonis Karakousis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
