Mitsotakis: The Greece of 2022 has turned the page and cannot be compared to the Greece of the crisis

A discussion on the prospects of the Greek economy was held by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with the co-founder and managing director of the AXIA Ventures Group, George Linatsa, and in this context the prime minister noted that “Greece has turned the page”, and is now considered by many a pillar of stability and investment opportunities. He also emphasized that we have a “better understanding of the priorities we want to manage”, but also that it is equally important to “stay on the same path”. He called tackling the energy crisis a challenge and referred to the research activities initiated by our country, as well as to its strategic alliances. However, Mr. Mitsotakis was also asked about the stakes of the upcoming national elections, while he also referred to the digital transformation of our country.

“It is clear that Greece has turned the page and that the Greece of 2022, entering 2023, cannot be compared to the Greece of the crisis. And this was important for us, that is, to change the perception of the country”, noted the Prime Minister while talking to Giorgos Linatsa.

In the context of the discussion, in which representatives from more than 70 international investment schemes participated, the Prime Minister emphasized that “Greece is now considered by many as a pillar of stability and important investment opportunities, at a time when other European countries are facing significant challenges. And I think we’ve been good at leveraging our systemic comparative advantages.”

He underlined: “We are already in the fourth year of our government. We will have elections in 2023, we have a very ambitious reform program. If nothing else, we have also learned from our mistakes. And I am very strict with my team and my ministers, to always look at what we are doing well, to look at what we have not done well. Therefore, I believe that in our second term we will focus even more on implementing reforms. And if anything, our mood for reform is much greater now.”

He further pointed out that, “we also have a much better understanding of the priorities we want to manage, but overall the issue is to stay on the same path. I have always argued that Greece needs two full terms of a government to really put it on a different development trajectory. I think we have done an important part of the work. But there is so much to be done. I believe that if a government stays in power for two terms, then it is very difficult to undo the progress that it has made.”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis called dealing with the energy crisis a big challenge for him this winter, but as he said “I think we still have some tools that we haven’t fully used. There is a lot of money coming in, especially to Greece, from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) to help soften the blow and avoid a recession in 2023. If nothing else, I think the Greek economy will significantly outperform, in performance, the Eurozone economy in 2023, while at the same time we need to ensure that we innovate public policy initiatives to secure money to support vulnerable businesses and households.”

At the same time, he noted that “we started the research activities after ten years of relevant discussions, in the southwest of Crete and in the southwest of the Peloponnese, where there are indications that there may be significant discoveries of natural gas. We do it jointly with ExxonMobil, HELLENiQ Energy (formerly Hellenic Petroleum). We need to know if there is something worth exploring. And I think we will have results very, very soon.”

“I think we are in a good position in terms of alliances. We not only have a strategic alliance with a member of the European Union, a strong strategic alliance with France. We also have a very strong relationship with the United States. Our relationship with the US is better than ever,” he said.

Asked about the stakes of the upcoming national elections, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted: “I believe we are a good government. People trust us. We have made mistakes but we have been honest in admitting them and trying to take initiatives on them. The opposition has not changed at all. If you look at SYRIZA and Mr. Tsipras today, they are saying exactly the same things they were saying in 2015. It is shocking that they have learned nothing from their defeat and that they are still behaving in the same arrogant way. We had Tsipras for four years and now we have four years of our own government. I think the comparison is very clear. People are worried about the economy and they are also very worried about geopolitics. They want to be confident that they can sleep at night without worrying about the direction of the country.”

Regarding the digital transformation of Greece, the prime minister noted that his goal would be for technology to make up 10% of the country’s GDP in the next five years. “What happened in terms of the digital revolution in Greece is, I think, by all objective criteria, impressive. First of all, in terms of the interaction between citizens and the state, it was a complete transformation. Our website gov.gr has really changed the way businesses and citizens interact with the government. And I think that, it was really an opportunity for us to surpass other countries. If you look at our vaccination program, it was entirely digital. The EU digital certificate it was our idea. Thus, we are truly pioneers at the European level in terms of various aspects of digital transformation. This was unthinkable three years ago. But if you also look at the tech ecosystem, it’s really booming in Greece. Lots of interesting companies doing exciting things. Lots of foreign investment in these areas, from data analytics to big data centers. All major technology companies are present in Greece and are actively investing in the country,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out.

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