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Thessaloniki, Vol. 2 [InTime News]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Following Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ speech opening this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair last weekend, the political parties in opposition also presented their own economic agenda and priorities. Nikos Androulakis, the leader of main opposition party PASOK, stated that he would not co-operate with ruling New Democracy post-elections, adding that his goal is for PASOK to finish first. “Now is the time for big decisions”, he said. His speech included seven major legislative pre-electoral pledges, all promised to be completed within the first six months of a PASOK government. They include a cut on VAT on essential goods to confront the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, the restoration of collective bargaining across all sectors, extending debt repayment schedules and protecting primary residences from foreclosure, and others including a renewed focus on public health and education. Androulakis called his party’s plan “progressive, realistic, substantiated and ready to be applied immediately with changes beneficial to the citizen”. However, PASOK’s path to a possible electoral victory seems very difficult. Apart from having to overcome a substantial polling deficit when compared to New Democracy, which continues to poll comfortably in first place even if it may not elect enough MPs for an absolute majority, PASOK has fallen to third place in all the polls behind former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ new Greek Left Alliance (ELAS). For his part, Tsipras signaled once more that he is looking to co-operate with Greece’s progressive political parties if ELAS finishes first in the elections. “If there is a response, there will be a government. If there is not, we will go to elections again,” he said. He described his party’s economic agenda as the most left-wing he has ever delivered at Thessaloniki, defending the party’s policy of a “patriotic contribution” in which the wealthiest 1% of Greeks would pay €1 a year for every €100 of net worth. He also rejected the criticism of his economic program by the prime minister, noting that “the last person who can give me advice on fiscal stability is Mitsotakis … not only because he governed under better conditions than I did … but because he took over a party with 200 million [euros] in debt and has tripled it”. Spotlight
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 [InTime News]Tensions between Athens and Ankara are on the rise, with the latest manifestation of the worsening climate being Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s warnings to Greece to, in essence, rethink its close cooperation with Israel. It has been almost two decades since Greece made a long-term strategic decision, that has been implemented by all Greek governments since, to deepen its relationship with Israel, bilaterally as well as within the trilateral scheme with Cyprus. During this period Athens has also made clear that the mutually beneficial convergence between two democracies in the Eastern Mediterranean was not aimed at any third party. Still, Ankara does not hide its concern and opposition to this steady cooperation which extends to the defense sector, including investments in advanced security systems. It is with this background, that the upcoming implementation of the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) – the power cable linking Greece to Cyprus and Israel – is moving forward. With Turkey raising objections with respect to the licensing authority in the geographical area between the Greek islands and Cyprus, some are worried about further friction. Two years ago, Ankara’s objections, which were manifested by the presence of Turkish warships, had led to the cancellation of seabed soundings by an Italian-flagged vessel working on behalf of French cable-laying company Nexans’. The incident took place close to the Greek islands of Kassos and Karpathos. This time around and given France’s commercial stake in the project – French investment group Meridiam has acquired a 66% stake in GSI whose total budget is projected between 2 and 3 billion euros – Athens is looking forward to Paris playing an active part in managing these objections. When Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met recently with French President Emmanuel Macron at the International Space Summit in Paris, the latter committed having the research vessel that will make the seabed soundings on behalf of Nexans fly the French flag, which means that France will be directly involved. The process expected to begin within the next couple of months could have France release a communique informing all nearby coastal states of the start of soundings and Greece issuing a NAVTEX. Informing Turkey, not asking for its permission, about the sounding and cable-laying process, seems to be the most plausible scenario. The issue is at the heart of the Greek-Turkey tense relationship as the latter claims that islands do not have a right to continental shelf or exclusive maritime zone, a view that is not supported by international law neither is it widely shared globally. |
 The spike in energy prices following the latest bout of instability in the Gulf is creating strong inflationary pressures for the Greek economy ahead of the winter, threatening the further erosion of household disposable income, the rise of product and service prices, as well as the resilience of government planning. The price of heating oil is particularly important, as the price of what is seen as an essential good is directly affected by the volatility, it can significantly impact the size of this winter’s bill for many households. Specifically, market experts predict that heating oil will likely enter the market at a price around €1.81/lt, compared to €1.09/lt at the start of last year, up 65%. |
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| “The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,726.49 points, up 0.93% from last week for a fresh 17-year high.” |
| “Greece is an increasingly attractive destination for major providers of financial services, as there is a concerted effort for Athens to join the group of international financial centers. Already, two of the stronger names in the global hedge fund market, Rokos Capital Management and Millennium Management, are preparing to establish a presence in Greece.” |
| “Three main tax breaks that affect the Greek property market have been extended until at least 2030. They include the suspension of VAT on new-build properties, the non-implementation of a 15% capital gains tax on property sales, as well as the full tax exemption for landlords who bring their closed properties back to the long-term lease market.” |
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Editor's Pick Instead of looking for the leader, so that we can live happily ever after, we must activate those institutions that will make good prime ministers even better, and bad ones less destructive.Read the article |
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