EDITED BY STEVE HAWKES
We need Big Fat Greek Rebrand
Economist wants end of ‘lazy’ image
I hope you enjoy an interview I granted to the UK paper The Sun.
It is important to try to do our bit to change perceptions, help the nation recover and assist the worst off.
I hope you enjoy the article written by Steve Hawkes.
All feedback welcomed,
GREECE must “rebrand” if it hopes to survive, one of the stricken nation’s top economists warned yesterday.
Dr Nick Skrekas said it was “outrageous” that the world sees Greeks as lazy — and this was putting off vital foreign investors.
He also hailed the conservative New Democracy’s victory in Sunday’s election as a move toward stability — but warned that more action was needed to halt the nation’s five-year recession.
Talking to Sun City in Athens, Dr Skrekas said: “The election is an important step for Greece. Voters signalled they are rational — they value stability over reckless promises. It should put a floor under the economy so people can invest and hire.
“But we have to attract as much foreign investment as possible. We need some sort of Marshall Plan like after the Second World War.
“We have to change the perception the outside world has of Greece. Everyone outside the country says we’re all aged 52 and retired, lazy — it’s outrageous.”
A total of 30billion euros (£24billion) will pour into Greece from the EU and IMF between now and the end of September. Private sector firms are owed 6billion euros (£4.8billion) by the Greek government.
The cash crisis has even hit the nation’s pharmacies, which are having to charge for medicines previously paid for by state-backed health insurance plans.
Khristos Papoutsis, who runs a pharmacy in Athens with his father Spiros, said: “We didn’t receive payments for much of 2011.
“We have to show a lot of tolerance. Something has to change, but the problem is that no one knows what.”
Eugenia Karabela, a civil servant, insists that most Greeks want to stay in the euro, but they need the Troika (the EU, IMF and European Central Bank) to lighten the terms of the bailout that set the brutal austerity measures Athens had to introduce.
Her salary has fallen by a THIRD to 1,000 euros (£800) a month as the government tries to cut costs.
She said: “We are choking. I want us to all be together in Europe, but they must change the conditions.”
Dr Skrekas said the eurozone was almost certain to give Greece a break in some way to reward pro-Brussels Antonis Samaras and his New Democracy party for the election win.
He said: “We cannot afford to lose the cash coming in from the Troika. But there are conditions such as private sector income must come down by 15 per cent in two years.
“Why they are choosing to intervene in the private sector is beyond me.
“The election result is a step forward. We haven’t won the war, but we’ve won a battle.”
New Democracy voter Konstantinos Kintzios warned that Greeks will have to accept their economy may never be as good as it was before the credit crisis took hold.
He said: “We had too much for a nation our size that produces nothing. We lived a dream, a fairytale. It was fake.”
Δρ. Νίκος Σκρέκας
Συντάκτης, Οικονομολόγος και Δικηγόρος (εθιμικό δίκαιο).
Ph. D. (Law), M.B.A., Master of Laws, Dip. Applied Finance, Bachelor of Laws (Honors), Bachelor of Economics.
Dr. Nick Skrekas
Author, Economic Analyst and International Lawyer
Tel:
Cell:
Email: nskrekas@trk.forthnet.gr
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