ekathimerini.com -The Greek Letter - 24 March 2024 : Political rift over Tempe train crash deepens and more...

 

Political rift over Tempe train crash deepens[Shutterstock] Constantine CapsaskisNewsletter Editor Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. The debate over the head-on rail collision at Tempe in February 2023, which left 57 people dead, grew even more bitter this week as the findings of the contentious parliamentary inquiry committee were presented to the rest of the House. The cross-party committee saw many of its opposition members walk out of the process, alleging efforts by the governmental majority to cover-up the incident, and compile their own reports on it. During the parliamentary debate on the incident, the government stood behind its claims that human errors are the prime cause of the disaster, adding that there are chronic issues plaguing the Greek railway network. New Democracy lawmakers also criticized the opposition, accusing them of capitalizing on the disaster for political gains. This was later echoed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was absent from the debate, when he called for an end to the “political speculation” over the disaster. A critical facet of the debate is the immunity provided to ministers by the Greek constitution, a provision which Laua Kovesi, head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, told Kathimerini is “in breach of EU regulations and law”. With a lawsuit against MP Kostas Karamanlis, who was minister of transportation at the time of the disaster, having already been filed, parents of the Tempe victims filed a further request to lift the immunity of Karamanlis and former SYRIZA transport minister Christos Spirtzis. The latter sent a letter to the House Speaker, demanding the lifting of his own immunity. Spotlight Greece’s political parties have also ramped up their campaigns for the upcoming European elections. Ruling party New Democracy unveiled its first 28 MEP hopefuls this week, including several returning candidates. At the same time, main opposition SYRIZA announced that it will hold an internal vote on April 14 to whittle down a list of approximately 400 candidates down to 35. The opposition party has also called for a televised debate ahead of the elections. Center-left party PASOK also revealed its first three candidates, with leader Nikos Androulakis calling the elections “a critical struggle for the future of Europe”. A recent opinion poll gives New Democracy a significant lead in voting intention, with it garnering 24.6% to second place SYRIZA’s 11.8%. However, it is worth nothing that this is also a 4% slide from the 28.5% it recorded in February.   The decision by credit rating agency Moody’s not to upgrade Greece’s credit rating, keeping it outside its investment grade, combined with a report by JP Morgan stating that Greece is not ready to join the MSCI Developed Markets Index negatively affected the Greek stock market this week. Moody’s attributed its decision primarily to the high level of public debt, the very high current account deficit, the overreliance of the Greek economy on the shipping and tourism sectors, and the slow progress in implementing reforms. Finance Ministry sources told Kathimerini that Moody’s decision was expected as it is more conservative in its outlook than its peers. During the week, a report by JP Morgan noted that it would be more advantageous if Greece remained in the emerging markets category as only three Greek stocks meet the criteria for inclusion in the MSCI Europe index.

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OPINION Tom EllisEditor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition Greek islands faced with the specter of drought[Shutterstock] As the summer approaches, the projected explosive growth of tourism in Greece is becoming a widely shared concern of people familiar with the industry and the country’s infrastructure. The question that arises centers around the type of tourism we should promote and invest in. Should we continue trying to lure more tourists? How many can or should we accommodate? How much are we willing to sacrifice to cope with the demand our success is creating? Many worry, and rightfully so, about the negative impact on the natural beauty of the country. The latest concern being the pressing problem of drought facing many islands, especially the small ones in the Aegean that are among the most popular destinations. With almost empty reservoirs in many cases, the possibility – probability would be more accurate – arises that they will be unable to fulfill the steadily increasing consumption needs of the tourists. There is also the impact of the shortages on local livestock and agricultural production as farmers find it more and more difficult to water their crops. A worrisome example of the huge problem being created is the popular island of Santorini, where a decade ago water consumption was about 930 thousand cubic meters, and last year it had reached 2.36 million. The steady surge in tourism over the last years has naturally led to a corresponding increase in water consumption. The lack of long-term planning and coordination by a complex and deficient water management system has resulted in a worrisome imbalance between supply and demand. And the limited rainfall in the Aegean, especially in the Cyclades, has made a bad situation worse. Finally, it comes as no surprise that the shortcomings noted above bring to the forefront the specter of poor quality; as we are getting ready for the tourist season the over pumping has in some cases resulted in water that is not always of the highest standards.

CHART OF THE WEEK

Consumption continues to be the main constituent component of Greek Gross Domestic Product at 88%, a similar percentage to that recorded before the financial crisis. The proportion of investment continues to be more than 8 percentile points below the European and Eurozone average. Additionally, exports (which include tourism receipts) recorded a marked decrease as a percentage of GDP in 2023, compared to the year before. This data points to the fact that efforts to change Greece’s economic paradigm and to close the country’s ‘investment gap’ face an uphill struggle.

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ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL

“The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,425.16 points, up 0.22% from last week.”

“The Finance Ministry presented its changes to the ‘Golden Visa’ program which include a new minimum investment threshold of 800,000 euros for purchases of properties in Attica, Thessaloniki, and all islands with more than 3,000 inhabitants. Additionally, the investment threshold will be increased across the country to 400,000 euros.”

“Food inflation, recorded at 6.7% for February, continues to be a serious problem for Greece. This is the second consecutive month that the country has the second highest rate of food inflation within the European Union, with the Eurozone average standing at 3%.”

WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA

25/03/202425th March: Greece will celebrate the Greek War of Independence with a series of cultural events. The day will also be marked by a military parade in central Athens. 27/03/2024Minimum wage: According to Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Labor Minister Domna Michailidou, the government is set to announce an increase to the country’s minimum wage. 27/03/2024Strikes: Several strikes and industrial actions are planned for next week, including a three-hour work stoppage by the union representing staff at public hospitals on Wednesday and a strike by staff of private healthcare providers on Thursday. Additionally, several unions have announced their intention to join the march of LARCO workers in central Athens on Thursday.

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PODCAST

21/03/2024 • 18:01Erdogan says all of Cyprus could have been TurkishIn a speech on Monday Turkey’s President Erdogan not only defended the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, but went even further, stating that if Turkish troops hadn’t stopped then all of Cyprus would be Turkish today. His comments come as a new UN special envoy is looking for ways to restart talks on Cyprus and amid efforts by Athens and Ankara to normalize ties. They also come on the heels of a recent trip that saw Greece and Cyprus deepen ties with Egypt. Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs and an associate professor of international relations at the American College of Greece, joins Thanos Davelis to break down Erdogan’s latest outbursts and their broader impact.

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