In autumn of 2014, the International Monetary Fund evaluate the fiscal policy measures and growth prospects of our county and came to the conclusion that the Greek debt could be limited to 120% of the GDP by 2020 without a “haircut” and new reforms and thus be deemed sustainable.
About a year later and after the first Tsipras government and the catastrophic appointment of Yanis Varoufakis at the Ministry of Finances, the same international organization estimated that the Greek debt could be limited to 120% of the GDP by 2031!
The first official verdict on the Tsipras government is that is was totally unprecedented, as in just 11 months we have gone back a full 11 years!
Quite simply this is because the “negotiation tricks” of Mr. Varoufakis and the delays of the leftist government brought the collapse of all credibility that had been gained, capital controls were introduced and the European bodies officially debated Greece’s expulsion from the Eurozone. This threat resulted in the acceptance of the third bailout and which in turn canceled the sacrifices and efforts of five years. The technocratic shortfalls of the leftist government and the obvious lack of understanding undermined and continue to undermine the country’s negotiating position.
Unfortunately there is no discernible progress in any area.
The situation in Education is stagnant. The experimental schools were ended because excellence is a sin, the digital school was razed because of the technophobia of Mr. Baltas and Mr. Filis and the universities lost valuable help from the volunteer Greek professors at overseas institutions.
Healthcare is facing numerous problems and is inefficient because new doctors are defined by an obsessive approach regarding free healthcare services.
Urban transportation is also plagued by the same obsessions and soon the buses will run out of tires. Meanwhile, community funds for growth and investment projects stagnate in ministerial offices.
In the primary agricultural sector a slew of taxes are imposed and critical, fully prepared policies are being abandoned.
In public works the practice of partitioning has come back in order to facilitate cronyism.
The country is also at risk of running out of allies in relation to the refugee crisis and is being threatened with an exclusion from the Schengen Area, with hundreds of thousands of refugees being trapped.
If the much-debated programs aimed at tackling the humanitarian crisis and poverty literally collapsed under the wait of restrictions and the government’s administrative inefficiencies.
Truth be told, the government gives the impression of a backwards troupe that cannot encourage growth or any progress for the country and its people. This is being understood very quickly…
Antonis Karakousis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
