Speaking about the message of the European elections, the Lord president of PASOK-KINAL, Nikos Androulakisin the plenary session of the 28th Annual Government Roundtable of Economists referred to the “growing distrust and discomfort of a large part of society towards political systems”. Furthermore, he stressed that “the message is clear and we must all listen to it, especially progressive forces: Inclusive policies are needed both in the economy and in the functioning of liberal democracy itself, so that millions of citizens no longer feel that their daily lives are simply spent fighting for survival.’
The Chairman of the PASOK-Change Movement noted that In the field of economics, social democrats believe in the tripartite principle of Sustainable Development – Quality Jobs – Reduction of inequalities. Speaking about the real picture of the economy, Androulakis said that “apart from the so-called ‘impressive growth rates’ that the government is celebrating, we will find that the country’s real GDP increased in the period 2019-2023 by a total of only 5.8%, with an average real growth rate of 1.4%. This is despite the huge amount of resources that have flowed and continue to flow into the country from the Recovery Fund.”
“The government celebrates, but the benefits of development do not spread to society”
He noted that the government is celebrating, but the benefits of development are not being shared by society, nor are the structural weaknesses of the State and the economy being remedied. Employment in our country remains second in the EU, while the trade deficit in the first four months reached 11 billion euros.
“The Recovery Fund resources are not being used in the most efficient way ensure consistently high and sustainable growth rates through a modern production model”, argued Nikos Androulakis citing the Monetary Policy Report of the Bank of Greece, where cumulatively in the period 2021-23 only 45% of the total funds from the Recovery Fund grants that were collected by Greece were channeled to the real economy.
“We have the biggest underperformance”
The PASOK-KINAL chairman added that public expenditure financed by grants from the Fund were considerably lower than the initial projections of the national plans: “We have the highest underperformance after Croatia and Bulgaria. It is therefore no coincidence that international organizations forecast average annual GDP growth in the long term in the region of 1%. As a result, the task of convergence with the average GDP per capita of the Union has become an extremely difficult objective that requires two decades in the best of circumstances, something certainly very relevant in light of recent extremely unexpected experiences, such as the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And without knowing what will happen to us in November in the American elections”, he stressed.
Nikos Androulakis criticized the government for its economic plan, saying it “leads to huge inequalities and the concentration of wealth in a few hands. Greed inflation in Greece has been 5.5 times faster compared to the eurozone over the past 4 years, as reflected in the quarterly report of the Parliamentary Budget Office,” he said.
According to the president of PASOK-Movement for Change Greece records largest percentage decline in real labour income (-8.3%) in the period 2019 – 2023, in relation to all EU countries and is deviating from the 27 where wages and profits follow an almost parallel trajectory, in our country the gap is widening.
“The wage share is falling (it is the second lowest among the 27) and the profit share is rising – it is the third highest among the 27. Inequalities are not only consolidating, but also increasing,” Androulakis stressed.
He stressed that for PASOK-Movement for Change, “convergence with the rest of Europe does not only require individual sectoral improvements, but a new Social Contract that cultivates in citizens a sense of stability, security and justice.
Our basic principle andis that political rights only acquire democratic content when they are based on social rights, otherwise we will continue to be spectators of the increase in the “democratic deficit” in our country. A deficit that does not only concern the rule of law and institutions, but also the lack of labor and social rights necessary to participate in social life with dignity and perspective.
Priorities
For this, the priorities that we have to define for the country in the next decade is ensuring sustainable and stable development.
He proposed specific axes and policies for productive reconstruction and the consolidation of social justice in the country, strongly criticizing the country’s energy planning, because, as he said, we need an integrated housing policy program, like the one proposed by PASOK.
He strongly criticized the fiscal policy which, according to the president of PASOK-KINAL, in three years, the profits that went abroad almost tripled and did not stay in our country to cover the huge investment gap.
“Today in the country, to understand the unfair nature of the tax system, even workers with an initial base salary of 830 gross now pay taxes,” Androulakis stressed.
Explaining his party’s proposals, Nikos Androulakis stressed that our goal for Greece in the next decade is to make our country a magnet for good jobs, to ensure that productive work guarantees a dignified life and the prospect that our children will live better from the US. “The era of the Mitsotakis government will go down in history as the era with the greatest misfortune on the backs of the Greek people. It left a deregulated market, full of oligopolies with which it did not enter into conflict, leading the middle class and the weakest citizens to live in very difficult conditions. Call for adjustments, reforms.
He avoided the essential changes that the economy needs. He must explain why he did not enter into conflict with those who are holding Greece back,” the PASOK-KINAL president stressed at the end of his speech.