Lawyer and member of the New Democracy Political Committee, Christina Georgaki, reviews Greece’s economic outlook under the leadership of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The two watchwords of sound economic management are ‘prudence’ and ‘balance’. Through prudence we ensure that the country spends within its needs, invests when it can and supports the population to greater prosperity. Through balance, we assess claims on the resources of the state against the needs of different segments of the population and against our long-term vision of a nation that supports its people. Last month, in my home city of Thessaloniki, the Prime Minister of Greece announced a plan for our economy that will leverage both prudence and balance to deliver for Greek people.
Because of the sound management of the Greek economy during New Democracy’s previous term, we have been able to inject more generosity into our crucial welfare system whilst also incentivising people to seize opportunity and to work if they can.
This is a serious agenda, combining smart reform – to make our economy more agile – with a strengthening of the safety nets that defend the vulnerable.
Alongside thirteen measures designed to ensure that the poorest in society – our elderly and our unemployed – are better supported, the Government has announced plans to crack down on tax avoidance. This is central to creating a balanced economy. The government has created the conditions for growth and prosperity, but that opportunity will be lost if we do not ensure that when wealth is created a fair share of it is put back into the economy to produce better public services and more prosperity for all.
We also have to face up – responsibly – to some of the challenges that we face as a country. Factors such as global economic instability, and instances of extreme climate events mean we need to plan, to ensure that we can continue to predict and to resolve any issues we may face in future.
This is what prudence and balance mean, in practice. Conserving our resources to enable us to spend them where they are most urgently needed. Having money in the bank to deal with the unforeseen. Aggressively ensuring that when money is owed to the state, the state will collect for the benefit of all. And it is what the Greek government – at the start of a historic second term – is doing. Because we made difficult, prudent decisions in order to balance our economy, we are able to intervene when intervention is required. The Greek people know that they now have a government that is careful with their money and so can afford to do what is needed.
Article written by Christina Georgaki, originally published on PoliticsHome Greece re-commits itself to sensible economics (politicshome.com)
