The images from the distribution of food in Thessaloniki on Wednesday were shocking, as endless queues and fights broke out among people desperate to secure the essentials for their survival. These are truly shameful images for a country which, in spite of what has gone through, is among the 30-40 richest countries on the planet.

While our proud government is shadowboxing and the Prime Minister and his officers give lessons in ethics with the shameful off-shore amendments, a significant section of society is suffering and struggling for the daily bread. This is not the first time we have seen these images in recent years, but while some had turned them into a banner as they were about to assume power, now they are limited to wishful thinking and unfulfilled promises.

We forgot about the hungry children in schools and the unpaid cleaners because we are fight against the troika, corruption and vested interests. So long as the economy is in a state of decay, so long as there is no basic policy to support production and competition, so long as we do not decide on giving young people incentives to remain in the country and create, these images from Thessaloniki will repeat themselves more often.

The economy will not be kick started with delusions, media spins and ministers trapped by their obsessions. The so-called class policy, for which various ignorant government officials pride themselves, leads nowhere other than the perpetuation of misery and poverty.

The only solution for a reliable social policy, which will eradicate these phenomena, is the development of the economy and the production of new wealth. To achieve this, we need a coherent national policy of reconstruction, by using all available financial resources and the country’s stagnating productive capacity. Above all though, we need officers who believe in such a policy and will not try to find a way out or to undermine it…

TO VIMA