Government must clarify its stance
The ongoing strike at the port of Piraeus is seriously harming a market that has already suffered a huge blow from the global economic meltdown. Before the general elections, a number of PASOK officials had hinted that if the Socialist party came to power, it would be tempted to review the agreement signed by the previous conservative administration of Costas Karamanlis, transferring the operation of Piraeus port’s container terminals to China’s COSCO Pacific. The problem of course is that such a U-turn would send the wrong signals to any foreign investors that may be interested in putting their money in the Greek market, particularly at a time when the country is thirsty for fresh investment. The new government under George Papandreou needs to clarify its stance on this issue as soon as possible. PASOK must not cultivate expectations among wrong-headed unionists who like to respond with blanket rejections to any policies or proposals that threaten the significant though unjustified privileges which were granted to them by the state when the port used to be under the latter’s exclusive authority.
