Changing the climate
… Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis believes that the economy could become a lever for transforming the currently unfavorable political climate and improving the prospects of the ruling Socialist party. Even though this possibility, to a large degree, exists because of mistakes committed by the government over the last couple of years, there are many measures whose implementation could actually transform the political climate. Let’s look at some of the initiatives that could shape the political landscape in the coming months: tax cuts in the new and emerging middle-income strata and parallel «neutral» adjustments for lower-income groups; a careful settlement of the social security issue that would be supported by employers, workers and the unions; the provision of incentives and the promotion of a simplified framework for small and middle-sized business activity; greater steps toward the substantial privatization of large corporations and the genuine reduction of the State’s stake in them; allocation of funds coming from EU structural funds; an attempt to sustain the growth rate of the Greek economy with a parallel improvement in the economic environment of the eurozone. Should there be some progress on all these fronts, thereby making a more competitive economy, Christodoulakis’s plan for «a new economic policy at the time of the euro» could yield a tangible electoral benefit…
