“How did the Greeks do it?” – Süddeutsche Zeitung on the path from the “no” vote in the 2015 referendum to growth

A publication in Süddeutsche Zeitung titled “How did the Greeks manage it?” analyzes the reasons for Greece’s economic growth in recent years, referencing the political scene and a bit of the behind-the-scenes:

“The Greeks said no. But Tsipras flew to Brussels and signed anyway. The rest is history,” writes the Munich newspaper on its website. “For years, the country struggled to emerge from the massive crisis, the state made one cut after another, and four years later, left-wing Tsipras lost the elections. Power was taken by center-right Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The figures announced by his government now are nothing like the previous ones. The situation has reversed. While the German economy stagnates, Athens is expecting growth of 2.2% this year.” The author asks, “How did they manage it?” and immediately answers that, according to Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras, it’s not only due to the increase in tax revenues and ongoing austerity measures, but also due to the fight against the shadow economy. However, it is noted that “these (revenues) also include income from privatizations that would be hard to ‘sell’ to German voters, such as the toll roads. This is something creditors imposed on the Greeks. The fact that the Minister of Finance can express satisfaction with the good numbers is also due to the fact that drivers are paying over 30 euros in tolls for a route from Athens to Thessaloniki.”

Finally, commenting on the Wednesday protests, the article emphasizes that “once again, Greece did not give the impression that everyone is as cheerful as the Finance Minister. (…) For Prime Minister Mitsotakis, dissatisfaction represents a political risk—many see him as someone who has lost touch with reality. In the polls, the New Democracy party has dropped to about 30%, compared to the nearly 41% it received in the June elections last year.”

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