Where is our faith?
Greece is undoubtedly going through a rough patch. Prolonged strikes have caused social unrest and political adversity. Piles of garbage and repeated power cuts have brought most citizens to the end of their tether. But, like all the other storms we have endured in the past, this one too shall pass and the country will go forward if the government remains firm on the path to reform. States decline when governments are lazy or concede too much, and progress when there is change and mistakes are rectified. The social security bill passed in Parliament was certainly not ideal but it is a first step forward. Greece does have a future and during these difficult times it has experienced it has also seen certain events that herald better days ahead. What were these promising omens? Firstly, the decision of Europe’s biggest telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom, to invest 2.5 billion euros in Greece to buy a 20 percent stake in state telecom OTE and roughly another billion to buy state-owned shares in the company. At a time when the international credit crisis has dried up markets and stalled huge M&As, DT’s investment shows us that the Germans have confidence in the future of Greece’s economy. Obviously they have something to gain from the deal, but we will also benefit from a strong OTE in one of the country’s most competitive sectors. The Italians have also placed their trust in Greece, as ENEL, in collaboration with the Kapelouzos Group, is investing 260 million euros in the prefecture of Viotia for the construction of a 448-megawatt power plant fired by natural gas. Spain has also said that its energy group, Endesa, will be investing around 2.8 billion euros in Greece up to 2012. The French want to invest in Hellenic Post, while China is eyeing the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki. If they have faith in us, why don’t we?
