There is something much more dangerous than a #government that can’t solve problems:
A government that doesn’t understand what the real problems are .
And even worse: A government that not only does not understand, but hides the real problems behind selective invocation of statistics :
A government that hides and hides behind selective elements …
Just two numbers, to begin to understand the “deceptions” – and the “self-deceptions” – of the government.
— It constantly claims that GDP has increased dramatically from 2019 to date. Indeed, it has increased by 34.5% ! Of all this, real #Growth is only 13% in six years !
More than half of the nominal growth was price increases ( inflation ).
That is, real growth of less than 2% per year !
In a period where extraordinary European funds poured in from outside – the #RecoveryFund .
Barely achieving 2% growth when so many resources are flowing in from outside means that the “underlying” growth potential of the Greek economy was – and remains – much lower and very weak.
Something that will become apparent now that the funds from the Recovery Fund are running out.
During the same period, the country’s trade deficit widened.
The “growth impulse” spurred by extraordinary inflows from abroad was absorbed more into rising prices and increased imports .
— The government claims that it “reduced taxes” . It actually reduced direct taxes !
But the total burden on the private economy from the state ( taxes and contributions ) increased! From 39% of GDP in 2019 to 40-41 in 2025 .
The increase in burdens occurred mainly through indirect taxes , due to inflation and skyrocketing energy costs .
And of course, the unbearable energy cost was mainly tax-related – and was created BEFORE there was even a crisis in the Persian Gulf – leading to a deterioration in the country’s competitiveness .
- Why can’t Greece get on a growth trajectory despite the unprecedented influx of funds from outside?
Why is much of the nominal boost absorbed by inflation and imports ?
Why can’t it cover the lost ground of the memoranda ?
Why is it falling behind in almost all EU ranking indicators?
Because its development potential is BLOCKED !
And the country’s political staff refuses to see it…
And not just the Government, by the way…
Indeed, they talk endlessly about “development” .
But they never talk about the country’s development blockage .
— They talk about “investments” .
They don’t talk about the funds that remain idle .
— They talk about “new financing” .
They are not talking about those who have been permanently excluded from all funding .
Just as they don’t talk about the causes that keep Greece stuck in the last positions in Europe in real disposable income and productivity .
We constantly talk about “symptoms” – and about “painkillers” .
We avoid talking about the “disease” . - And yet, the picture is before us.
— More than 165 billion euros in overdue debts to the State and social security funds.
— Approximately 70-75 billion euros of non-performing loans are still under management (by funds and collection companies).
Not all of these are “collectible” . Only a portion of them can be collected over time – after undergoing a very serious “haircut” .
But as long as the current situation continues, the overdue debts to both the State and the banks are keeping multiple funds frozen. Which are literally rotting …
— Approximately 1.6 million VAT numbers are faced with forced collection measures .
— So millions of bank accounts are frozen . (for each VAT number under forced collection, more than one frozen account corresponds).
— Tens of thousands of businesses remain excluded from bank lending .
— Vast areas of land and public property remain undeveloped .
— The credit penetration of the Greek economy remains at approximately half the European average. (in Greece it is around 55% – on average in Europe it reaches 110% )
So the Greek economy is called upon to “develop” under a regime of… credit suffocation !
These are all different aspects of the same problem!
Of blocked productive potential and Immobility .
The immobility of capital .
Real estate .
Business immobility .
The immobility of people .
Greece is NOT a “poor country” .
It is a country that has trapped a huge part of its productive potential .
When 40% of the loans given through the Recovery Fund went to just 30 companies , don’t expect any diffusion of growth .
When less than 10% of the Recovery Fund was absorbed by small and medium-sized enterprises , don’t expect any “growth momentum” … - And the strangest thing is that we have become accustomed to this situation .
— We consider it “normal” that there are hundreds of thousands of people who cannot borrow even a single euro.
— We consider it “normal” for there to be claims from the State that will never be collected.
— We consider it “normal” to have properties that produce nothing.
— We consider it normal for public property of enormous value to stagnate .
And then we wonder why the economy isn’t taking off .
The government has celebrated growth rates in recent years.
However, he failed to mention that this growth was based to a significant extent on the extraordinary inflows of the Recovery Fund .
The real question is not how much the economy grew while there were emergency European funds to propel it forward…
The real question is what will happen when these resources run out .
Because now they are running out …
If the country’s “underlying” growth momentum remains stuck at 1.5% , then #Greece will never substantially converge with the rest of #Europe . And the Commission predicts exactly that for the coming years: That Greece’s real growth will slow from 2.1% in 2025 to 1.5% …
It’s not us or anyone else saying it.
This is the official forecast of the #Commission (which is not optimistic for the rest of the eurozone economies either)
And this means:
That, as things stand today, we will not regain the lost ground of the previous fifteen years .
And the worst?
Almost no one seems to be worried .
We constantly hear about “better management” .
We hear nothing about the real issue: The Liberation of the Economy !
Liberation from all endogenous factors that block it…
We constantly hear about “new programs” .
We never hear about the need to break the mechanisms that keep a huge part of the national wealth idle.
If we want real growth rates that consistently exceed 3% for an entire decade , we must first free the productive forces that we currently keep trapped.
Beyond inflows of funds, we should unleash the country’s internal development potential .
— Let’s put back into economic circulation capital that remains dead .
— To reintegrate people and businesses that are out of the economic game.
— To transform public property from an accounting burden into a productive tool .
— To restore the functioning of bank credit and financing .
In other words, let’s do what we have been avoiding in recent years:
Let’s cut the “weights” that are holding the Greek economy back.
Why can’t Greece easily attract resources when it keeps huge productive resources it already has blocked …
And you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs .
Nor do you build a high-growth economy when you have come to terms with permanent immobility .
And this is exactly what is at stake today:
— If we are going to accept chronic stagnation
— or whether we will accelerate the country’s development momentum
— which today is blocked from everywhere.
THANASSIS K.
