Giving meaning to public firms
Greece’s fixation with keeping important businesses, such as companies that make weapons and defense systems, in public hands boils down to nothing short of the country robbing itself of its own money. These companies have never really done anything that contributed to the defense of the country nor have they produced anything. All they’ve really done, like so many other state-run businesses, is blow up the state budget deficit by creating black holes, forcing the state to have to borrow over the years in order to cover expenses. The quest for a strategic investor for Hellenic Defense Systems and the Hellenic Vehicle Industry, along with the restructuring of Hellenic Aerospace Industry are nothing short of last-ditch efforts to save these companies. They are in urgent need of money, technical know-how, management and, first and foremost, a raison d’etre. And if these are not found via private investors, there is really no way for these companies to survive.
