Going through the 2025 budget, the sixth in a row submitted by the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, I feel that we can now claim that Greece is finally beginning to close the deep wounds left behind by the multi-year crisis and the great recession of the previous decade. This was emphasized during his speech on the 2025 state budget, the Minister of State Akis Skertsos, noting that “it took a lot of effort, a lot of pain, a lot of denials and frustrations, lessons that cost a lot, to stand again on more solid foundations”.

As he said, in 2025 we will manage to see our national income at 247 billion. euros, i.e. slightly higher than where we left the GDP, at 242 billion. euros in 2008.

“It took 17 whole years to get back to where we were,” said Mr. Schertsos, and speaking about his generation, said that he “saw its most productive years being lost, in a country that was sinking for many years in economic collapse, political toxicity, international disrepute, brain drain. Never again” said Mr. Schertsos, stressing the need “not to allow (never again) populism to divide us, bankrupt us and push us to the political extremes. Preserving the memory of what we have experienced is a guide for the future, it is the duty of all of us and at the same time an obligation, primarily to our children.”

After describing the progress of the Greek economy, through elements of the discussed budget, he noted that “my intention is not to describe a country as a paradise. We know very well that Greece will not become Switzerland in a few years. There are many problems that citizens face… […] but “we are doing everything possible to help families cope with the high cost of living” while “accelerating our social policies, precisely because the economy is doing well.”

Mr. Schertsos also said that “we have conquered stability, but we have not yet conquered prosperity. But also stability, for a country that all it did in the previous years was to produce crises from its political system, is not an insignificant conquest”.

Referring to the very recent publications of international organizations and media, he said that they certify the good progress and stable performance of the Greek economy in recent years. They are even discounting, based on the budget we are discussing in the Parliament, the continuation of this good course in the coming years” observed Mr. Schertz. As examples, he cited the re-upgrading of the Greek economy by the rating agency Scope, the ranking of Greece by the Economist, for the third time, in the top three world economies and the recognition by the OECD of the important reforms that have led to a further improvement of functioning of competition, but also the greater reduction of tax burdens.

In particular, Mr. Scherer that the European Commission put Greece in the “league of champions” of only seven European countries that are subsidized to build one of the artificial intelligence factories of the future.

“These have only happened in the last 10 days. All the previous year we have corresponding international reports. Are the international media paid and making these positive reports on the Greek economy? Are they participating in some international conspiracy in favor of the Greek government and the Greek prime minister? I don’t think so. […] They measure, compare, evaluate, come to unquestionable conclusions. This is called independent journalism, it is called independent economic analysis,” said Mr. Schertz.

As he said, he mentioned the above, “because if we look at the criticism made by the opposition in the room, we will think that we are talking about another economy […] for a country on the march, if not already on the brink of economic ruin. But the country is on the opposite side of economic disaster, and this is confirmed by those who have, and rightly so, criticized us the most in previous years. But let’s remember that our country had a hard time getting out of the debt crisis, because for several years we stubbornly refused to listen to the evaluations of these very foreign houses, foreign investors, the bells that they were ringing in previous years. On the contrary, we chose as a society to believe those who promised left trees” said Mr. Schertz.

Finally he said that we want “a country where the younger generations can finally live better than the previous ones. This is the point, this is what we lost in the years of the deep crisis of the previous decade. We are fighting to win back, to give hope again to the younger children, to dream, to create, to believe that it is worth living and creating in our country.

The 2025 budget, like the five previous budgets that were passed and implemented, as a result successfully, serves exactly this plan, this vision. We are not where we want to be, but we are improving day by day. I invite you to vote in favor to continue the path towards a Greece that will be qualitative, more productive and green, more digital, more democratic, a Greece stronger with everyone and for everyone” concluded Mr. Schertz.

In his intervention, after the speech of the Minister of State, the parliamentary representative of SYRIZA-PS, Chr. Giannoulis, asked if the government is satisfied with the international reports on the rule of law in Greece.

Answering, Mr. Skertsos noted that we measure the government’s performance in matters of rule of law based on the reports of the European Commission, which, in its latest report of 2024, finds that Greece has made one of the greatest advances in matters of the rule of law. “We expect the opposition parties, who have discredited the country abroad for the rule of law, to read it in more detail, study it and evaluate it,” said Mr. Schertsos, while in the observation of Mr. Giannoulis that the report speaks of progress and not of a satisfactory situation, the Minister of State said that “you, who define yourself as progressive parties, cannot be deniers of progress. Because that’s who you are, when you don’t recognize the steps that are taken forward. You are deniers of progress,” said Mr. Schertz.