The progress of the Greek economy is being praised by yet another foreign news outlet. Specifically, French radio station France Inter highlighted the significant progress achieved by Southern European countries in their national economies, with Greece leading the way. In her analysis of developments in the Greek economy, Béatrice Mathieu, journalist for L’EXPRESS magazine, extensively discussed the efforts being made by Greece’s Labor Minister Niki Kerameus to repatriate scientists who left the country.
French journalist: Greece has changed
“I will first tell you about a woman who is currently visiting European capitals to promote her country. This woman is Niki Kerameus, Greece’s Minister of Labor. London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris… everywhere the same message: Greece has changed. Her goal is to convince the approximately 600,000 Greeks who have left the country since 2010, due to the violent economic crisis, to return. These are mainly young graduates, doctors, nurses, engineers, IT technicians, who were forced to leave because of unemployment rates that, at the peak of the crisis in 2013, reached 27.5% and nearly 58% for those under 25. To entice her compatriots living abroad, the minister offers a tax incentive: a 50% reduction in income tax for seven years for those who have been away from the country for more than five years. I point this out because our leaders are indeed referring to Greece a lot lately,” she noted.
“Could France in 2025 be Greece in 2010?” To this question, the French journalist responded:
“While the situation in France is worrying, it is in no way comparable to that of Greece 15 years ago. When the crisis erupted in Greece in November 2009, a massive fraud was revealed to the rest of the world. The newly elected socialist government in Greece announced that the deficit would reach 12.7% of GDP, double what had initially been projected. I remind you that France’s deficit last year was 5.8%. Greek debt at that time approached 130% of GDP. Greece in 2010 was nothing more than a massive bubble.
Tax evasion was a national sport, corruption endemic, the shadow economy represented almost one-third of GDP. Aid from the IMF, ECB, and European Union, totaling hundreds of billions of euros, would only be disbursed in exchange for massive reforms. From 2009 to 2015, there would be no fewer than nine successive austerity programs. Pensions would be reduced by 25% to 40%, civil servant salaries by 30%, the legal retirement age would gradually increase to 67 years, while working time would increase to 40 hours per week. Between 2009 and 2014, healthcare spending would be halved. For years, Greece would be brought to its knees.”
“Club Med”: Growth has returned
When asked if “Greece is doing better today?” the journalist answered:
“Greece is doing better, as are all the countries we once called ‘Club Med’: Portugal, Spain, Italy. Growth has returned. Greece shows a primary surplus, before paying interest to its creditors, and debt is decreasing. However, the standard of living remains about 10% lower than pre-crisis levels. Using Greece’s example in France today to push through the bitter pill of fiscal efforts that need to be made is a strategy. The coming months will show whether it was the right one.”
